Track & Field Heads to NYC for New Balance Collegiate Invitational

NEW YORK -- The competition heats up for the LSU track and field teams this weekend as they travel to New York City on Friday and Saturday to compete in the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Track and Field Center.


This is widely considered one of the premier collegiate competitions of the indoor season as many of the nation's elite programs will square off in a field of more than 100 college teams. The meet begins Friday at 10 a.m. CST followed by the final day of competition on Saturday at 7:45 a.m.


The top-ranked Lady Tigers will go toe-to-toe with the likes of No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 10 Texas, No. 13 North Carolina, No. 14 Arkansas and No. 17 Miami, while the 16th-ranked LSU men's squad is joined by top-ranked Arkansas, No. 2 Florida State, No. 5 Texas and No. 15 Tennessee.


"This is going to be an outstanding track meet for our athletes to run in a really competitive atmosphere," said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. "It's important for us to continue to line up against better competition as we prepare for NCAAs on down the line. It's all about making a progression each week, and I'm confident they'll continue to do that at this meet."


Shaver said this meet is especially important for LSU's middle distance athletes as many will be making their season debut in their respective specialty events. He said this competition will determine the progression each athlete has made in their training to this point in the season.


All-Americans Deonna Lawrence and Cynetheia Rooks are scheduled to run in the women's 400 meters for the first time during the 2007 campaign as the duo ranks No. 4 and No. 8 in the event, respectively, in the latest Trackwire Dandy Dozen. Seniors Meisue Francis and Tanya Osbourne, and freshman standout LaTavia Thomas will lead the Lady Tigers' effort in the 800 meters.


On the men's side, senior Marvin Stevenson and junior Reggie Dardar will be making their season debuts in the 400 meters, while sophomore transfer Rueben Twijukye and freshman Jamaal James are slated to run the 800 meters for the first time in their LSU careers. James is currently ranked 10th in the event in this week's Dandy Dozen.


"This will be our first opportunity this year to get in a good, competitive 400 meters and 800 meters for the men and the women," Shaver said. "The competition is there with a nice banked track and a good environment, and hopefully we'll be able to continue to show a little bit of improvement in those events as we have so far."


The Lady Tigers will once again be led in the sprints and hurdles by the performance of junior All-Americans Kelly Baptiste, Brooklynn Morris and Jessica Ohanaja, senior Angel Boyd and sophomore Nickiesha Wilson.


Baptiste is scheduled to run the 200 meters for just the second time this season, while Morris will lead the Lady Tigers' effort in the 60-meter dash. Ohanaja is looking for her fourth title in the 60-meter hurdles this season after clocking a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 8.14 a week ago, while Boyd and Wilson will push for their first hurdles crown of the 2007 campaign.


Junior long jumper Kathryn Coleman will lead the Lady Tigers in the field events as she looks to improve upon her NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 20-8 ½ set at the Bayou Bengal Invitational last week. Coleman's season best distance is the third-best indoor mark posted by a collegiate athlete this season.

Junior Richard Thompson, who is ranked No. 4 in the nation in the men's 60 meters, makes a return appearance for the Tigers in the event after clocking a provisional qualifying time of 6.67 at the Modrall Sperling Invitational on Jan. 20. Dandy Dozen members Will Coppage and Jeremy Hicks are set to lead the Tigers in the field events as they will compete in both the long jump and triple jump.


In addition to their participation in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, four of LSU's track athletes have been invited to compete as part of the college division in the 100th Millrose Games beginning Friday at 4:45 p.m. at Madison Square Garden. The Millrose Games is the nation's oldest and most prestigious indoor track and field invitational dating back to 1908.


Ohanaja and Wilson are scheduled to compete in the women's 60-meter hurdles at 7:15 p.m. followed by Baptiste in the women's 60-meter dash at 7:45 p.m. and Thompson in the men's 60-meter dash at 7:50 p.m. A national television audience will have a chance to see these athletes in action as the meet will be aired live on ESPN2 from 6-8 p.m.


"That's going to be a unique thing because it's the 100th anniversary of the meet and it's one of the most successful indoor track and field meets in the world," Shaver said. "It's going to be at Madison Square Garden, and the environment is just going to be outstanding. They've tried to involve the college teams in the meet more this year and it's a great opportunity for our athletes."


The Tigers and Lady Tigers follow their trip to New York by traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 9-10 to compete in the Tyson Invitational at the Randall Tyson Track Complex before returning home to the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse to host the LSU Twilight on Feb. 16.