The LSU track and field team will send 20 athletes to compete in the 2010 NCAA Indoor National Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., March 12-13.The Tigers and Lady Tigers are nearly evenly represented at the event: Nine men and 11 women are traveling to Fayetteville for the competition. The No. 5 men and No. 3 women will have plenty of opportunities to score.The Tigers have one near-lock to win a national title in his event. Junior thrower Walter Henning owns the nation’s best mark in the 35-pound weight throw by more than 3 feet.But Henning isn’t resting on his laurels heading into the championship meet. Henning finished fourth at the NCAA championships last season.”I was second in the nation going into the [championship] meet last year by a half inch,” Henning said. “The next guy was 2 1/2 feet behind us, and that guy ended up winning the meet, so you can’t underestimate anybody. It’s the national championship — everyone’s gonna show up.”His two years at LSU have been filled with one falling record after another. He set a new LSU record in three meets this year alone.”Henning has been Mr. Consistent all year long,” said LSU track coach Dennis Shaver. “With Walter, you think about a 35-pound weight throw, it’s probably some great big guy that’s throwing the weight, but Walter’s not a very big guy. But I’ve never seen anybody accelerate the ball in three turns better than what he can.”The contributions of junior Zedric Thomas and sophomore Barrett Nugent have not been overshadowed by Henning’s dominance. Both athletes have enjoyed breakout seasons after struggling through injury-plagued 2009 seasons.Nugent ran the third-fastest 60-meter hurdle time in the country this season when he ran a 7.35 second heat at the Southeastern Conference Championships. His season ended prematurely in Fayetteville last season, but the sophomore is primed to contend for the national title this year.”Nugent has just made an incredible turnaround from last year’s indoor season where things didn’t go very well at all,” Shaver said. “He’s been very consistent all year long.”Thomas is competing in two events at the championships. His 26-foot, 3-inch long jump is the No. 3 mark in the country, and his 53-foot, 3.5-inch triple jump is at the No. 8 mark. Thomas’ potential has started to surface this season.”Thomas, who last year had a knee surgery, who kind of struggled in the latter part of the outdoor season trying to make a comeback, has had an outstanding indoor season for us so far,” Shaver said.Senior sprinter Jamaal James, sophomore thrower Michael Lauro and freshman sprinter Caleb Williams will also be participating in the individual events this weekend.Both the Tigers and the Lady Tigers will send their 4×400-meter relay teams to the event. Both relay teams ran their seasonal-best qualifying time in Fayetteville. The Tigers’ 3:06.11 came in the SEC championships, and the Lady Tigers’ 3:34.11 came in the Tyson Invitational.Senior All-American LaTavia Thomas will run the anchor leg for the 4×400 relay and compete in the 800-meter run. Thomas holds the No. 3 time in the nation this season and won the national championship in the event in 2008.The Lady Tigers have three sprinters vying for the national title in the 60-meter run. All-Americans senior Samantha Henry and junior Kenyanna Wilson will be joined by freshman Takeia Pinckney, whose seasonal-best time of 7.24 seconds ranks No. 4 in the nation.Pole Vaulter Rachel Laurent, high-jumper Brittani Carter, triple-jumper Melissa Ogbourne and 200-meter runners Cassandra Tate and Kimberlyn Duncan will all vie for individual titles.- – – -Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]