The LSU track and field teams continued their strong starts as the Tigers and Lady Tigers added two NCAA automatic qualifiers and four NCAA provisional qualifiers at the New Mexico Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. LSU has already claimed four automatic qualifiers and 10 provisional qualifiers for the NCAA championships from two meets this season. LSU coach Dennis Shaver was focused on his team getting experience on a banked track, which rises into a slope at the turns of the track, so his team would be better prepared for the Southeastern Conference championships and the NCAA championships, both of which will be run at the University of Arkansas’ facilities in Fayetteville, Ark. ‘I thought we made some progress today, especially in our first competition of the year on a banked track. Now, we need to build on this experience as we prepare for the championship meets,’ Shaver said in a news release. ‘That is what I am looking for from both our teams each time we compete. We want to be more consistent each time out.’ Sophomore All-American Rachel Laurent will compete in the national title event for the pole vault for the second straight season after clearing 14 feet, 3 1/4 inches, good enough for second in the country this season. Laurent is trying to gain consistency in her performance after a freshman season, which she believed wasn’t a true indication of how she could perform. ‘I’m really excited about how I’m jumping this early in the season. I feel like I left a lot out there last year and didn’t perform nearly as well as I should have,’ Laurent said in a news release. ‘
‘That’s given me a lot of motivation for myself this year. I knew coming into the meet today that eight girls have already qualified for the national meet, and I really wanted to add my name to that list. The competition will be fierce all year long.’ Though junior thrower Walter Henning already had a spot in the NCAA championships locked up with his performance at last week’s Purple Tiger Invitational, he still set a new personal record in the weight throw on his fifth throw of the New Mexico Invitational. Henning hurled the 35-pound weight 75 feet, 8 inches. That throw beat his previous personal best of 74 feet, 5 1/2 inches which he set at the 2009 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, and is the top throw in the nation this season. LSU also saw personal bests from junior high jumper Brittani Carter, junior triple jumper Zedric Thomas, sophomore thrower Michael Lauro, middle distance runners Alan Sticker and Richard Chautin and pole vaulters Joseph Caraway and Thomas Reinecke with clearances of 16 feet, 6 3/4 inches. LSU will continue its preparation for SEC and NCAA championships next weekend when the team travels to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
‘
Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected] ‘