BATON ROUGE -- The LSU track and field teams will be well represented at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend as a total of 18 athletes and two relay teams will compete beginning Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Lady Tigers will bring one of the nation’s largest contingents to the meet as 10 athletes and the nation’s top-ranked 4x400-meter relay squad are slated to compete in 13 different events.
The Tigers are strong national contenders themselves as they will travel a total of eight athletes and their distance medley relay team to compete against the nation’s best this weekend.
Senior sprinter Kelly Baptiste will lead the Lady Tigers as the nine-time All-American enters the meet as the No. 1 performer in the NCAA in the 60-meter dash with a school record time of 7.13 seconds. Baptiste took third place in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago.
Like Baptiste, the Lady Tigers also enter the meet with the premier 4x400-meter relay squad in all of collegiate track and field. The foursome of Brooklynn Morris, Nickiesha Wilson, LaTavia Thomas and Deonna Lawrence owns the nation’s top time this season with a seasonal best time of 3 minutes, 31.89 seconds, which is nearly two seconds better than their nearest competitor.
Morris, Thomas and Wilson are also slated to run in open events this weekend. Morris joins an elite field in the 200 meters, while Thomas is among the national favorites in the 800 meters and Wilson is scheduled to line up in the women’s 60-meter hurdles.
Junior Andrea Linton will lead the Lady Tigers’ effort in the field events at the national meet as she will double in the long jump and triple jump after posting new overall personal bests during the regular season. She enters the meet with a top mark of 20 feet, 10 inches in the long jump and the No. 5 triple jump mark in the country this season at 44-6 ¼.
Other Lady Tigers who will compete include Juanita Broaddus (60), Kathy Coleman (long jump), Samantha Henry (60/200), Jessica Ohanaja (60 hurdles) and Katelyn Rodrigue (pole vault).
Baptiste is not the only LSU athlete who enters the meet with the nation’s top time in the 60-meter dash as senior Richard Thompson is the No. 1 performer on the men’s side and among the national favorites with a seasonal best time of 6.57 in the event.
Thompson will be joined in the event by the nation’s No. 3 performer in sophomore two-sport star Trindon Holliday, who follows closely behind Thompson with a seasonal best time of 6.60. This marks the first time in his LSU career that Holliday will compete at the NCAA indoor meet.
The Tigers will also be well-represented in the middle distances as they feature three entries into the 800 meters, including Elkana Kosgei, Reuben Twijukye and Jamaal James.
Other Tigers scheduled to make an appearance this weekend include senior Ryan Fontenot in the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore John Kosgei in the 3,000 meters and sophomore Will Coppage in the long jump. Fontenot and Kosgei will be making their first career appearance at the meet.
This also marks the first time in program history that the men’s distance medley relay team will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships as Elkana Kosgei, Armanti Hayes, James and John Kosgei enter the meet ranked No. 10 in the country with a time of 9:35.31. The foursome broke the school record by nearly six seconds at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 16.
The two-day NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships kick off Friday as the University of Arkansas will play host to the event for the ninth straight season. Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers are looking to win their first NCAA indoor championship since sweeping men’s and women’s titles during the 2004 season.
LSU’S 2008 NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS COMPETITORS
MEN
Athlete, Event, Top Time/Mark
Will Coppage, Long Jump, 25-4 ¾
Ryan Fontenot, 60 hurdles, 7.70
Trindon Holliday, 60 meters, 6.60
Jamaal James, 800 meters, 1:48.73
Elkana Kosgei, 800 meters, 1:48.18
John Kosgei, 3,000 meters, 7:55.49
Richard Thompson, 60 meters, 6.57
Reuben Twijukye, 800 meters, 1:48.29
E. Kosgei, Hayes, James, J. Kosgei, DMR, 9:35.31
WOMEN
Athlete, Event, Top Time/Mark
Kelly Baptiste, 60 meters, 7.13
Juanita Broaddus, 60 meters, 7.25
Kathy Coleman, Long Jump, 20-10 ½
Samantha Henry, 60 meters/200 meters, 7.18/23.01
Andrea Linton, Long Jump/Triple Jump, 20-10/44-6 ¼
Brooklynn Morris, 200 meters, 23.57
Jessica Ohanaja, 60 hurdles, 8.11
Katelyn Rodrigue, Pole Vault, 13-6 ½
LaTavia Thomas, 800 meters, 2:04.66
Nickiesha Wilson, 60 hurdles, 8.12
Morris, Wilson, Thomas, Lawrence, 4x400, 3:31.89