Eight current and former LSU athletes will compete against some of the best athletes in the country in the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet, held June 23-27 in Des Moines, Iowa.The current Tigers and Lady Tigers have completed the collegiate season with sixth place finishes in the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  The four current athletes have qualified for the USA Championships based on their performances during the season. Each athlete must meet a certain standard to be able to compete in the meet.Walter Henning, a junior All-American thrower, will participate in the hammer throw for the first time since winning the national title two weeks ago.Henning has been racking up the awards during the past few months. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named him as one of 10 male finalists for the Bowerman Award on Tuesday.The Bowerman Award is awarded annually to the top male and female collegiate track & field athletes. “What else can you say about Walter Henning? The guy is just a tremendous competitor,” said LSU Coach Dennis Shaver in a news release after the NCAA Outdoor Championships. “He’s a guy you can never count out … The great ones are able to get it done when it’s all on the line.”Sophomore hurdler Barrett Nugent, NCAA runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles, will also compete this week. Nugent earned an All-American award for his performance with a school record time of 13.49 seconds.”I made sure to focus more on the process of running the hurdles and what I had to do instead of running for a time or trying to break a record or anything like that,” Nugent said in a news release following the race. “That is when you get yourself in trouble in this event. You have to focus on the race and nothing else.”Seniors LaTavia Thomas and Richard Jones, both All-Americans in the middle distance, will both compete in the 800-meter run. Former LSU stars Lolo Jones, Xavier Carter, Jeremy Hicks and Ryan Fontenot will also compete. Jones, the world leader in the 100-meter hurdles, won her second consecutive title at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.Hicks won the U.S. Indoor title in the long jump earlier this year and will compete in the same event this weekend. Carter will run the 200-meter dash and Fontenot will sprint the 110-meter hurdles.Two Lady Tiger freshmen will also compete in Drake Stadium for the USA Junior Championships. Charlene Lipsey is entered in the 800-meter run, and three-time All American Takeia Pinckney is set to run the 100-meter dash.–Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]