The LSU track and field team will host the Bayou Bengal Invitational starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Carl Maddox Field House.
The Bayou Bengal features a Louisiana-based field including Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Southeastern Louisiana University, and Southern University.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers look to keep improving after tallying nine personal-best performances in the Purple Tiger Invitational on Jan. 8.
Two of the nine Tigers who achieved personal-bests were junior thrower Johnnie Jackson and senior thrower Patrick Geers.
Jackson, a former two-time junior college men’s indoor weight throw national champion, set a personal best at his LSU debut in the invitational with a weight throw of 67 feet, 2 3/4 inches placing second overall in the men’s weight throw.
Jackson said exceeding his personal record is what he strives for at every event he competes in.
“It makes me feel good about this coming weekend and really shows me that I hadn’t been wasting my time, and have been doing the right stuff,” Jackson said. “So, I just have to keep doing what I have been doing plus the things I know I haven’t been doing to try to do better in the upcoming weeks.”
Geers set a personal best with a weight throw of 64 feet, 3 3/4 inches. The California native’s record throw placed 10th in LSU’s all-time rankings.
Although Geers said personal bests were always nice to open the season with, he said he expected to exceed his past performances.
“It just depends on how you’re doing that week,” Geers said. “Maybe the day you’re throwing or the day you’re competing, you just feel better than the others [days]. You say ‘Ok. I can do something different. I can make something big happen today.’”
Although most view competing at home as strictly an advantage, LSU coach Dennis Shaver said he sees both negatives and positives.
For LSU runners, Shaver said the LSU track was a disadvantage because it isn’t a bank track. He said it doesn’t allow the runners to reach qualifying times for NCAA championships. Being at home, however, is helpful for field events.
Regardless of where the team is competing, Shaver said he and his colleagues continuously give their team positive encouragement, but technical training will also get them ready for Saturday.
“All the track and field events are pretty technical and I think the work that they’re doing in the weight room and, of course, the speed development kind of work they’re doing to be quicker in the ring — just all of those little things, reactive kind of things, are getting them prepared,” Shaver said.
You can reach Jourdan Riley on Twitter @jourdanr_TDR