LAKE CHARLES – The McNeese track and field squad will split up this weekend to compete in the LSU Bayou Bengal and the Meyo Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame, beginning Feb. 1.

The LSU Bayou Bengal will kick off at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Carl Maddox Field House and the Meyo Invitational at 4 p.m. at the Loftus Sports Center in Notre Dame, Indiana.

The Cowgirls squad currently rank 13th in the USTFCCCA South Central regional rankings while the Cowboys rank 27th, with both squads coming off of first place finishes at the McNeese Indoor II.

LSU Bayou Bengal

Field events will kickoff at 11 a.m. with the men's weight throw and track events will start at 2:15 p.m. with the women's 60-meters qualifiers.

McNeese has entered the Cowboys in six events and the Cowgirls in ten.

For the Cowboys, freshmen Blake Grace and Lucas Voigt will toe the line in the 60-meter hurdles. The Cowboy duo finished second and third, respectively, at McNeese Indoor II while also setting PR's in the 55-meter hurdles.

In the 800-meters, sophomore William Devaney is coming off of a PR run of 2:02.78 at McNeese Indoor II.

For the Cowgirls, the trio of Shaelyn Hines, Brentney Carroll, and Rachel Woods will compete in the 60-meter hurdles. The Cowgirl trio took the top three spots in the 55-meter hurdles at McNeese Indoor II, all while setting PR's at the event.

In the triple jump, Morgan Talley set a PR with a leap of 37-11.5 at McNeese Indoor II, beating her previous record by over one foot.

Meyo Invitational

Field events will begin on Friday at 4 p.m. with the women's long jump and weight throw. Track events will kickoff at 4:30 p.m. with the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries.

The Cowgirls will compete in nine events and the Cowboys in seven.

For the Cowgirls, senior Grace McKenzie will compete in the 800-meter run, 60-meter hurdles, and the long jump. McKenzie currently ranks fourth or better in all three events in the Southland Conference.

Freshman Malaiya Jedkins will compete in the triple jump for the Cowgirls. The freshman posted a leap of 38-9.5 earlier this season at the Samford Invite, a distance that ranks her seventh in the Southland Conference.

For the Cowboys, senior sprinter Tyler Smith will compete in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash, Smith currently holds the fastest time in both events on the squad.

Senior Lentz Similien will compete in all three jumping events at the Meyo Invitational, the high jump, triple jump, and long jump.

McNeese Entries

LSU BAYOU BENGAL
Men
60m – Gared Brown
800m – Jakalub Rhodes, Morgan Frederick, Dimitri Thornton, William Devaney
60m hurdles – Lucas Voigt, Blake Grace, Kevin Tripeaux
4x400m relay – Frederick, Rhodes, Thornton, Devaney
Pole Vault – Adriano Theriot, Brendan Ford
Triple Jump – Kevin Tripeaux

Women
60m – Carli McDonald, Taneisha Allen
200m – Taneisha Allen
400m – Victoria Pierson, Destiny Johnson
800m – Shania Anthony, Bailey Fruge, Ciara Gilroy, Jessica Fox, Alissa Lander, Marta Lukijaniuk
1 mile – Jessica Fox, Alissa Lander, Marta Lukijaniuk
60m hurdles – Brentney Carroll, Shaelyn Hines, Rachel Woods
4x400m relay – Woods, Anthony, Fruge, Gilroy, Johnson, Pierson
High Jump – Crystal Coulter
Long Jump – Heaven Terrell, Carli McDonald
Triple Jump – Morgan Talley

Meyo Invitational
Men
60m – Tyler Smith
200m – Tyler Smith, Ethan Rapp, Kobe Nevills
400m – Terrill Banks, Kobe Nevills, Blake Comeaux, Ethan Rapp
60m hurdles – Darion Dunn
4x400m relay – Comeaux, Banks, Rapp, Nevills, Smith, Similien
High Jump – Lentz Similien
Long Jump – Lentz Similien, Darion Dunn, Nemanja Koviljac
Triple Jump – Lentz Similien, Darion Dunn, Nemanja Koviljac

Women
60m – Aleyah Donald
200m – Aleyah Donald
800m – Grace McKenzie
3,000m – Alex Eykelbosch
60m hurdles – Grace McKenzie
Long Jump – Grace McKenzie, Malaiya Jedkins
Shot Put – Alanna Arvie
Weight Throw – Alanna Arvie, Kira Benkmann