Junior pole-vaulter Rachel Laurent and freshman sprinter Jasmin Stowers saw more accolades Tuesday from their successful weekend.
Laurent picked up Southeastern Conference Female Field Event Athlete of the Week honors, while Stowers won SEC Female Freshman of the Week.
Laurent continued her collegiate success at the LSU Relays during the weekend, setting school and facility records in the pole vault. She cleared a dizzying 14 feet, 2 1/2 inches to win the competition.
That mark now slots in as the No. 1 rated in the SEC and No. 2 in the NCAA for the 2011 outdoor season.
The honor is Laurent’s first of the year.
Laurent broke her own school record of 14-1 1/4 she achieved during her freshman season.
Stowers, meanwhile, had quite a collegiate outdoor debut. The Pendleton, S.C., native eclipsed the LSU Relays record in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a blazing time of 13.15 seconds. The previous record was 13.19 seconds by former Tiger Nickiesha Wilson.
Stowers now rates as the No. 1 performer in the NCAA and No. 2 performer worldwide outdoors in 2011. She was also tabbed as SEC Female Freshman of the Week on Feb. 8 during the indoor season.
Stowers also beat her personal record of 13.52 seconds.
She came to LSU as the No. 1 sprint hurdler in the country and earned consecutive selections to the USA Today All-USA Track and Field Team in 2008 and 2009.
Laurent’s torrid start is reminiscent of her previous two campaigns. Both resulted in spots on the All-America team for her freshman and sophomore efforts, three All-SEC selections and a third place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
____
Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]