The three day meet will start with the men\'s decathlon and the women\'s heptathlon on Thursday at 3 p.m. Action continues Friday with conclusion of the multi-events at 11 a.m. as well as high school and collegiate competition at 3 p.m. Collegiate competition wraps up Saturday with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and running event starting at 2:30 p.m.
LSU will welcome nearly 20 collegiate teams from throughout Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. A field highlighted by Ole Miss, Southern Miss and in-state foes Tulane, Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana.
For several Tiger athletes this meet will serve as the season-opener.
\"We intended on having our athletes that throw the javelin, hammer and discus open the season last week at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, but some technical issues prevented us from doing that,\" said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. \"We are fortunate enough to be able to open up here. We have some athletes that have been training since September that I think they\'re chopping at the bit to get out there and compete.\"
LSU javelin throwers Brandon Racca, Pat Perrien and Amanda Harmata will all see their first action of the season on Saturday. Both Racca and Perrien finished just shy of earning All-SEC honors in the event last year. Harmata, an All-American performer as a prep at Raritan High School in Hazlet, N.J., will be making her collegiate debut.
In addition, veteran throwers Katie McKeever and Matt Vincent, who concentrated their efforts on the shot put during the indoor season, will each see their first action of the year in the discus. Vincent is also expected to compete in the hammer.
\"During the indoor season I felt our throwers were consistently throwing at or better then their previous bests all year long,\" said Shaver. \"Now their challenge will be to continue that momentum and maintain that consistency while also concentrating on the other events.\"
On the track, the Tigers and Lady Tigers will be back in full swing after a weekend off following their performances at the NCAA Championships.
\"Everyone one will be running in at least one or two relay events this weekend,\" said Shaver.
LSU will debut it 4x100-meter relay teams Saturday as well as test the waters in the sprint medley relay on Friday.
Olympian Bennie Brazell will be a key leg on both relays for the men\'s squad. He will also be making his season debut in the 400 hurdles, an event he finished seventh in at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.
The Lady Tigers will draw from a pool of seven or eight athletes to determine the makeup of their relay teams.
LSU will be without the services of All-Americans Hazelann Regis and Neisha Bernard-Thomas, who anchored the young squad through the indoor campaign, but completed their eligibility at the national championships.
\"Hazelann and Neisha really carried the load during the indoor season and it was a learning process for many of the new athletes,\" said Shaver. \"I think experiencing the SEC and NCAA Championships for the first time they saw that some athletes not only run their same times at those meets, but some set it up another level.\"
The Lady Tigers will look to its young group of freshmen to kick it up another notch as they head into the outdoor portion of their schedule.
\"The gratifying thing about having a lot of younger athletes is that they are willing to learn and anxious to do well,\" added Shaver.