A revised schedule, meet performance lists and with parking details for this the indoor track and field meets scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Carl Maddox Field House are now available using the links to the right.
BATON ROUGE - The LSU track and field teams begin their march toward the NCAA Championships this weekend as they kick off the 2010 indoor season by playing host to the 2010 Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday afternoon at the Carl Maddox Field House.
The action at the Purple Tiger Invitational will open with the field events at noon CT followed by the first events on the track beginning at 5 p.m.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will work toward improving during the next six weeks as they prepare for the 2010 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held March 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
The Lady Tigers are among the national championship contender as they open the season ranked No. 3 in the preseason power ranking released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Tigers are also ranked among the Top 10 teams in the country as they open the season at No. 9.
LSU ranked among the nation's best in 2009 as the men placed fourth and the women finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships held in College Station, Texas.
"Our athletes have been looking forward to this day for a long time now. They are ready to compete," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "We've had an outstanding training season, as good as we've had since I've been the head coach, and our athletes have done a tremendous job of preparing themselves for a day like today. Now, it's important that we continue to improve each week as we prepare for NCAAs."
Eight All-American athletes are slated to make their 2010 season debut in their respective specialty events during Friday's competition at the Purple Tiger Invitational.
Junior All-American and NCAA title contender Walter Henning will lead the men's team as he steps into the circle for his first weight throw competition of 2010. Henning earned a pair of All-America honors for LSU a season ago with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw indoors and a national runner-up finish in the hammer throw outdoors at the NCAA Championships.
The meet will also feature a trio of other Tiger All-Americans as senior Will Coppage (long jump), junior Gabriel Mvumvure (60 meters) and sophomore Barrett Nugent (60 hurdles) are scheduled to compete.
Senior Samantha Henry and junior Kenyanna Wilson are sure to be leaders of the Lady Tigers this year as they open up in the 60-meter dash at the Purple Tiger Invitational. Wilson finished third and Henry placed seventh in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago.
The Lady Tigers will also be led by a pair of All-Americans in the jumps as junior Brittani Carter is set to compete in the high jump and sophomore Rachel Laurent is slated to compete in the pole vault Friday.
And as is the case with each new season, many of the nation's premier recruits will make their LSU debut on Friday. The future will be on display as freshmen Damar Forbes (long jump) and Rynell Parson (60 meters) will represent the Tigers in their respective events, while sophomore Samia Stokes (weight throw) will join freshmen Takeia Pinckney (60 meters) and Brittany Porter (long jump) in the lineup for the Lady Tigers at the Purple Tiger Invitational.
"We're not going to be asking our athletes to do too much in our first meet, but those who are competing have a great opportunity to get something done early in the season," Shaver said. "This will be the first of many steps for our team this season. It's now time for us to get out there and compete."
After playing host to the Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday, LSU will go on the road for the first time on Jan. 30 as it competes in the Lobo Opener at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M.
