Track & Field Teams Prep for SEC\'s at Twilight

BATON ROUGE -- The LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to compete in their last meet before the SEC Indoor Championships next week as they host the LSU Twilight Invitational at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Friday.

The competition, which features a total of 18 teams from the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, is scheduled to get underway with the field events beginning at 3 p.m. followed by the meet’s first running events at 6 p.m.

“We’re looking to rest many of our athletes this weekend because we’ve had three two-day track meets on the road and the fatigue factor is starting to set in a little bit,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We want those who will be competing next week to be well-rested, and this will also give some of our other athletes the opportunity to step up and compete for us.”

Among those who Shaver is looking to improve at the LSU Twilight this weekend are men’s hurdles standouts Alleyne Lett and Ryan Fontenot.

Lett, a senior from St. David’s, Grenada, has only competed in one hurdles race this season while battling a series of injuries, while Fontenot clocked his first NCAA provisional qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles at the Tyson Invitational last weekend. The Baton Rouge native clocked a personal best 7.91 in the consolation final of the event on Saturday.

“Alleyne Lett is healthy enough now that I can get him on the track and do some things, and he’ll run the hurdle races this weekend,” Shaver said. “It’s also a great opportunity once again for Ryan Fontenot to get back on the track and continue to show consistency in his performances.”

Shaver said that the LSU Twilight also gives many of his athletes competing in the short sprints and distance events the opportunity to improve upon their season best times and possibly earn the right to represent the university at the SEC Indoor Championships next weekend.

“This weekend really gives many of our individuals in the short sprints to get out and try to get a little bit more focused and execute a race with a little better time than they’ve run to this point. That may allow them to possibly make the trip with us to the conference meet next week and be a contributor on the team. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do at this meet.”

The Tigers and Lady Tigers will follow their appearance in the LSU Twilight by traveling to the Nutter Fieldhouse in Lexington, Ky., to compete in the SEC Indoor Championships from Feb. 23-25. They host the LSU Invitational on March 2 before making the return trip to the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor Championships from March 9-10.