Even with 24 seniors graduating, the future looks bright for the LSU track and field teams.
Sophomore transfer Walter Henning and incoming freshman Rachel Laurent posted top-five finishes in their respective events at the International Association of Athletic Federation World Junior Championships this past weekend in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Henning won the men’s hammer throw Saturday, and Laurent finished fourth in the women’s pole vault Friday.
Henning broke his own American junior record with a throw of 252 feet, 4 inches on his final attempt.
He is the first American ever to win a gold medal in the event in the World Junior Championships and the first American since 1956 to win a gold medal in the hammer throw in a major competition.
“He’s somebody that in those championship meets always seems to handle the pressure,” said LSU coach Dennis Shaver. “It wasn’t really all that terribly surprising that he threw a personal best in the meet.”
Henning originally signed with North Carolina and just completed his first year of eligibility there, winning Atlantic Coast Conference titles in the indoor weight throw and the outdoor hammer throw.
He also earned All-American honors in the indoor weight throw with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 14 and 15.
“The throws coach that was at North Carolina left after he had signed there,” Shaver said. “I think probably the fact that he knew who [throwing] coach [Derek] Yush was probably had something to do with [him coming here].”
Laurent’s final height of 13 feet, 11 1/4 inches tied third-place finisher Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece, but Laurent finished fourth because Stefanidi cleared the height in fewer attempts.
“She actually jumped high enough to get the bronze if she would’ve had one less miss, but that’s what happens,” Shaver said.
Henning and Laurent both won their respective events at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships on June 22 in Columbus, Ohio.
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]