Denise Hinton has shattered the Lady Tigers’ record book as a sophomore and forced her way into national championship contention as the nation’s No. 6 weight thrower.
But the newest track and field star to come out of Baton Rouge isn’t on scholarship. She wasn’t even planning to be an athlete after high school.
“I thought I was done with sports when I decided on LSU,” Hinton said. “My dad and I came [to LSU] for orientation, and when we drove past the [Bernie Moore stadium] my dad suggested I try to talk to one of the coaches.”
In that first stroll through the stadium, Hinton met LSU throwing coach Derek Yush and told him about her experience as a shot putter in high school and asked if the team had any extra spots on the roster.
Hinton and Yush kept in contact in the summer before Hinton’s first semester, she eventually joined the team as a walk-on without even meeting LSU coach Dennis Shaver.
“I think the first time I met Coach Shaver was at the first team meeting when he formally introduced himself to everyone,” Hinton said. “I didn’t know anyone coming into that first season.”
Since that introduction, Hinton has switched events and launched into what has become a breakout season for the Peachtree City, Ga., native.
This season, Hinton broke her personal best mark in all but one meet, eclipsed the program record five times and earned talk of possibly being rewarded with a scholarship depending on how she performs in this weekend’s NCAA meet.
“Denise, in her first six meets as a sophomore, [set personal records] and really put the school record books basically off the charts,” Yush said. “She’s already a force to be reckoned with in the [Southeastern Conference], and I think she’s certainly got to start thinking about being All-American and then winning a national championship as an individual.”
Hinton earned a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championship meet after securing an automatic qualifying bid for her school record-breaking throw of 69 feet, 9 3/4 inches at the LSU NCAA Indoor Qualifying Meet on March 2. Her record now stands 4 1/2 feet ahead of previous record holder Mallory McDonald, who threw 65 feet, 2 3/4 inches in 2003.
The throw put Hinton at No. 8 all-time in the SEC and No. 1 this season. If she had thrown the same distance at the SEC Indoor Championship Meet, she would have won by more than three feet instead of finishing a disappointing ninth with a throw of 58 feet, 6 3/4 inches.
“The first time you go to a meet and have high expectations, particularly as a walk-on … a lot of things can happen,” Yush said. “Denise tried to muscle her way through it and found that’s not what it takes to win.”
Hinton was favored in her first trip to a conference championship meet that featured seven of last year’s top-10 performers, including Florida senior Fidela James, the defending SEC champion.
“I had never had so much pressure put on me, and I guess I just freaked out,” Hinton said. “Last year nobody really expected me to do anything because it was a new event [for me], and this year I went into the SEC as No. 1.”
Hinton said while she is nervous and has high expectations for herself, she knows she’s only a sophomore and still has two years to meet her goals.
“My expectation is just that I go out there and compete,” Hinton said. “I want these girls to not [say], ‘Oh, this is just some sophomore from LSU.’ I want them to see me as a competitor and look for in the years to come.”
 
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Contact Michael Gegenheimer at [email protected]