Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU track and field program begins its 2023 outdoor postseason action this weekend as they host the SEC Championships May 11-13 at the Bernie Moore Track & Field Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Live Results | Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets
LSU has 54 athletes (29 men, 25 women) entered to compete over the three days of the SEC Championships. The meet begins on Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT and concludes on Saturday at around 7:50 p.m. All three days of the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+ (links directly below), while Saturday night’s stream at 5:00 p.m. will be airing on the SEC Network. The broadcast talent includes Dwight Stones, Dan O’Brien, John Anderson, and Larra Overton.
SECN+: Thursday 12 p.m. | Thursday 5:30 p.m. | Friday 11:30 a.m. | Friday 5 p.m. | Saturday 2 p.m.
SECN: Saturday 5 p.m.
The women and men enter the SEC Outdoor Championships both ranked No. 6 in the nation in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Ratings Index. In the latest SEC ratings index, the LSU women are projected to finish sixth, while the men are slated to finish in second.
LSU’s women are projected to score 76 points this weekend based on their conference rankings heading into the championships. They enter this year’s meet with a league-leading 13 SEC women’s titles.
Leading the charge for the Lady Tigers is Michaela Rose, who is projected to score 18 points. Rose currently ranks first in the nation and the SEC in the 800 meter with a time of 1:59.08. She is the only runner in the nation to go sub-two minutes, doing so at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 13. Rose also is projected to score points in the 1500 meter and the 4×400-meter relay.
Also projected to score double-digit points are Lorena Rangel-Batres and Alia Armstrong. Rangel-Batres ranks second in the SEC for the 1500 meter with a time of 4:11.61, and also is projected to score for the Tigers in the 800. Armstrong, one of the best hurdlers in the nation, currently ranks third in the SEC with a time of 12.56. Armstrong has come back hot from a nagging injury that kept her out a majority of the indoor season, and will also look to score for LSU in the women’s 4x100xmeter relay.
A couple of names to lookout for this weekend that have been out most of the outdoor season are Favour Ofili and Brianna Lyston. Both runners will be back on the 4×100 team for the weekend and will get cracks on a couple of their first few individual-event races this season. Ofili, the 2022 outdoor SEC 100, 200, and 4×100 champion, will individually run in the 100 and 200. Lyston is expected to run in the 200 alongside Favour, which would be her first career outdoor-individual event. She currently holds a PR of 22.53 in the event from before her collegiate career started, which would rank top-10 in the nation.
LSU’s men are projected to score 79 points this weekend based on their conference rankings heading into the championships.
All eyes will be on the men’s 4×100 team that holds the nation-leading time of 38.26 seconds from the last home meet of the season. The team consisting of Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming, and Godson Oghenebrume are projected to score 10 points in the relay and 27 points in all other events combined.
Fleming is projected to lead the scoring charge for the Tigers, running in the 100 (8 points), 200 (5 points), and 4×100 (10 points). His time of 10.06 seconds from earlier this season ranks second in the SEC behind Oghenebrume. He also holds a time of 20.26 seconds to lead LSU in the 200, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
Oghenebrume is projected to score 20 points as he leads the SEC in the 100 with a time of 9.97 seconds and also anchors the nation’s-best 4×100. The Ughelli, Nigeria, native will also be expected to run in the 200, which could raise his score total throughout the weekend.
In order to score at the SEC meet, an athlete must finish in the top eight of their respective event. First Team All-Conference goes to event winners, while Second Team will go to those that finish in second or third place. Entering the weekend, LSU holds 34 spots in the SEC’s top eight rankings.
Women’s SEC Top-Eight Marks (16)
Michaela Rose – No. 1 – 800m – 1:59.08#
Lorena Rangel-Batres – No. 2 – 1500m – 4:11.61
Alia Armstrong – No. 3 – 100mH – 12.56
Michaela Rose – No. 3 – 1500m – 4:11.98
Shani’a Bellamy – No. 3 – 400mH – 55.96
Morgan Smalls – No. 3 – HJ – 1.86m (6’ 1.25”)
Lorena Rangel-Batres – No. 4 – 800m – 2:03.53
LSU A – No. 4 – 4x100mR – 43.27
Leah Phillips – No. 5 – 400mH – 56.56
Thelma Davies – No. 5 – 200m – 22.64
Morgan Smalls – No. 5 – LJ – 6.30m (20’ 8”)
Ella Chesnut – No. 6 – 3000mS – 10:34.02
Leah Phillips – No. 6 – 100mH – 12.89
Shani’a Bellamy – No. 7 – 100mH – 13.08
Cindy Bourdier – No. 7 – 800m – 2:04.01
LSU A – No. 7 – 4x400mR – 3:31.80
# represents nation-leading time
Men’s SEC Top-Eight Marks (18)
Godson Oghenebrume – No. 1 – 100m – 9.97
LSU A – No. 1 – 4x100mR – 38.26 #
John Meyer – No. 1 – SP – 20.42m (67’ 0”)
Apalos Edwards – No. 2 – TJ – 16.28m (53’ 5”)
Da’Marcus Fleming – No. 2 – 100m – 10.06
Claudio Romero – No. 3 – DT – 61.30m (201’ 1”)
Tzuriel Pedigo – No. 3 – JT – 77.61m (254’ 7”)
Da’Marcus Fleming – No. 4 – 200m – 20.22
Alex Selles – No. 5 – 800m – 1:47.68
Davis Bove – No. 5 – 1500m – 3:39.42
Jaden James – No. 6 – DT – 55.97m (183’ 7”)
Jackson Martingayle – No. 7 – 3000mS – 9:10.32
Brandon Hicklin – No. 7 – LJ – 7.95m (26’ 1”)
Brandon Hicklin – No. 8 – 100m – 10.15
Sean Burrell – No. 8 – 400mH – 50.26
Beau Domingue – No. 8 – PV – 5.15m (16’ 10.75”)
LSU A – No. 8 – 4x400mR – 3:03.69
Jackson Rimes – No. 8 – JT – 69.16m (226’ 11”)
# represents nation-leading time