Track and Field: Men’s Track to Start Indoor Season as Sun Belt’s Highest Ranked Squad

LAFAYETTE – The Ragin’ Cajuns men’s indoor track and field team is set to begin the 2013 campaign in select company.

 

The squad was listed 61^st out of the 300-plus schools that sponsor track and field in the preseason national rankings published by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

 

Louisiana, preparing to begin the second season under Lon Badeaux’s direction, is the highest ranked team among the Sun Belt schools (Middle Tennessee No. 73 and Western Kentucky No. 90).

 

The Ragin’ Cajuns are the second-highest ranked team in the state of Louisiana, behind only No. 10 LSU.

 

“The ranking is a good indication that we will have a pretty solid indoor team,” head coach Lon Badeaux said. “With the solid returnees and talented newcomers, we hope that this team will have the opportunity to be among the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference as the season progresses.”

 

The USTFCCA’s preseason computer projections are based largely on the top returners from each school and early performances from this season.

 

The Cajuns’ top returners include All-American Albert Fournette (shot put), reigning Sun Belt long jump and heptathlon champion Sander Maes and three-time Top 3 Sun Belt triple jump finisher O’Daylon Thibeaux.

 

Louisiana finished fourth in the 2012 Sun Belt Indoor Championships and sent Fournette and pole vaulter Chris Roy to the NCAA Championships in Nampa, Idaho.

 

To view the complete preseason rankings, click here.

 

The Ragin’ Cajuns begin the 2013 indoor season on Friday, Jan. 18 competing in the McNeese Indoor at the McNeese State Indoor Recreation Complex. The Sun Belt Championships are set for Feb. 24-25 in Jonesboro, Ark. The NCAA Championships are March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark.

 

— Ragin’ Cajuns —