BATON ROUGE -- The LSU women's track and field team has followed dominating performances in each of its three indoor meets this season by claiming the No. 1 spot in the latest Trackwire 25 power rankings released by the organization Tuesday.
The Lady Tigers vault into the top spot after spending the previous two weeks at No. 3 as they are projected to score 47 points at the NCAA Indoor Championships, while they are also ranked No. 3 in the first U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Top 20 of the season.
The Tigers continue to show steady improvement through the first three weeks of the season as they are ranked among the nation's Top 20 teams for the second consecutive week. They are currently in a tie for 16th with South Carolina at 13 points in the Trackwire 25, while entering the season's inaugural Coaches Poll at No. 17.
The Lady Tigers, who find themselves ranked No. 1 for the first time since April 26, 2004, continue to be well-represented with 12 nationally ranked athletes in the Trackwire Dandy Dozen, which is a listing of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each individual event scored at the NCAA Championships.
Junior All-American Kelly Baptiste leads the Lady Tigers as she is the nation's top-ranked performer in the 60-meter dash for the third week in a row, while freshman sprint sensation Samantha Henry and senior Sherry Fletcher are currently ranked sixth and ninth in the event, respectively.
Junior Jessica Ohanaja improved her standing in the women's 60-meter hurdles to No. 3 after clocking the nation's second best time and an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 8.14 to win the event title at the Bayou Bengal Invitation on Thursday. She is followed closely behind in the national rankings by sophomore Nickiesha Wilson at No. 4 and senior Angel Boyd at No. 8.
There is also a trio of Lady Tigers ranked among the nation's top 12 performers in the 200 meters led by Baptiste, who remains at No. 4 as she is currently third on the national descending order list in the event with a season-best time of 23.33. Fellow junior All-American Brooklynn Morris is also on the list at No. 8 followed by Henry at No. 10.
Junior Deonna Lawrence and senior Cynetheia Rooks are the Lady Tigers' top performers in the 400 meters as the duo is projected to score at the NCAA meet after being ranked fifth and eighth, respectively, while junior jumps standout Kathryn Coleman is No. 8 in the long jump after posting the nation's third best jump of 20-8 ½ at the Bayou Bengal Invitational.
On the men's side, junior All-American Richard Thompson leads the Tigers' effort on the track as he remains the nation's fourth-ranked sprinter in the 60-meter dash, while freshman middle distance standout Jamaal James remains is in the Dandy Dozen in the 800 meters for the third week in a row at No. 10.
The Tigers also have a pair of nationally ranked athletes in the long jump led by freshman Will Coppage, who enters the Dandy Dozen in the event for the first time in his LSU career at No. 10.
Sophomore all-conference performer Jeremy Hicks enters the rankings for the first time this season one spot back at No. 11.
Both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams are expected to compete for national titles during the indoor campaign as the Lady Tigers boast the nation's top-ranked foursome, while the men's team is ranked No. 2 for the second straight week on the strength of solid performances at the Modrall Sperling Lobo Invitational two weeks ago.
The teams will be on the road for back-to-back meets as they travel to the Armory Track & Field Center in New York to compete in the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational beginning Friday followed by a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., for an appearance in the Tyson Invitational at the Randall Tyson Track Complex on Feb. 9-10.
Trackwire 25WOMEN
1. LSU, 47
2. Stanford, 44
3. Arizona State, 39
4. Michigan, 34
5. Texas Tech, 30
6. Texas A&M, 25
7. South Carolina, 24
t8. Auburn, 21
t8. Georgia, 21
t10. Texas, 20
t10. Minnesota, 20
12. Kansas State, 19
13. Tennessee, 16
t14. Iowa, 15
t14. North Carolina, 15
t16. Georgia Tech, 14
t16. Arkansas, 14
t18. Washington State, 12
t18. Oregon, 12
t18. Hampton, 12
21. Penn State, 11
t22. Florida, 10
t22. Southern Illinois, 10
t22. Cornell, 10
t22. Duke, 10MEN
1. Auburn, 44
2. Arkansas, 42
3. Florida State, 40
4. Washington, 37
5. Wisconsin, 35
6. Oregon, 29
7. Texas, 28
8. Baylor, 27
9. Florida, 20
t10. Nebraska, 16
t10. Stanford, 16
t12. UTEP, 15
t12. Louisville, 15
t12. Clemson, 15
15. Tennessee, 14
t16. LSU, 13
t16. South Carolina, 13
t16. Idaho, 13
19. UCLA, 12
t20. South Alabama, 10
t20. Liberty, 10
t20. Providence, 10
t20. Texas Tech, 10
t24. Michigan, 9
t24. Iona, 9Coaches' Poll
WOMEN
1. Arizona State
2. Stanford
3. LSU
4. Texas A&M
5. South Carolina
6. Michigan
7. Auburn
8. Texas Tech
9. Georgia
10. Texas
11. Tennessee
12. Minnesota
13. North Carolina
14. Arkansas
15. Kansas State
16. Oregon
17. Miami, Fla.
18. Iowa
19. Nebraska
20. Georgia TechMEN
1. Arkansas
2. Florida State
3. Auburn
4. Wisconsin
5. Texas
6. Oregon
7. Florida
8. Baylor
9. Nebraska
10. Washington
11. Stanford
12. UTEP
13. Clemson
14. Louisville
15. Tennessee
16. Arizona State
17. LSU
18. UCLA
19. Idaho
20. South Alabama