The U.S. World Junior Track and Field Championship Qualifiers kicked off what will be an action-packed summer of competition and qualifying for LSU track and field athletes leading up to the London Olympic games, which start July 27. LSU will be well represented in the Olympic qualifying ring with 14 current track and field athletes attempting to earn a trip to London for the Olympic games or Barcelona for the IAAF World Junior Championships,which will be held July 10 through 15. “The athletes spent last week training together here on campus,” track and field Sports Information Director William Stafford said. “But [this morning], they all spread out and head off to their qualifying events.” Three LSU athletes out of five sent to Bloomington, Ind., qualified for a Team USA spot during the junior qualifier, held June 15 through 17. Aaron Ernest, Rodney Brown and Quincy Downing punched their tickets to Barcelona during the weekend. Ernest led the freshman trio by qualifying in three events, despite winning none of them. Ernest turned in two silver medal performances on the weekend, with the first coming in the 100-meter dash. He crossed the finish line in 10.46 seconds, .18 seconds behind Tyreek Hill, who will be Ernest’s teammate in Team USA’s 4×100-meter relay team. The freshman standout finished behind Hill in the 200-meter dash, this time losing by .31 seconds after a 20.88-second finish time. Brown was the only Tiger to take home gold in an event, winning the discus throw on his way to the No. 3 US juniors all-time ranking. Brown threw 206-feet, 9-inches on his third attempt to secure the victory, trailing only Kansas standout Mason Finley (214- feet, 4-inches, in 2009) and former Penn State star Brian Milne (207-feet, 5-inches, in 1992) in the all-time standings. Downing rounded out the group after earning a spot on the U.S. 4×400-meter relay team with his fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash. He finished with a time of 46.68 seconds. Four different countries will have LSU athletes competing in their qualifiers for a chance to represent their home nation. The United States, Canada, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago will each feature Tigers in national qualifying. “It’s not just our current athletes,” Stafford said. “Plenty of post-collegiate pros and former LSU athletes will be qualifying for various events, including the Olympics. It’s a busy time for the program.” Among the Tiger standouts looking to land in London next month are senior NCAA champion Kimberlyn Duncan and former LSU star Lolo Jones. 
 
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