BATON ROUGE — For her outstanding performance at the Tyson Invitational this past weekend, LSU pole vaulter Rachel Laurent has been named the Southeastern Conference Female Freshman of the Week as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
Laurent, a native of Houma, La., became the Lady Tigers’ second automatic qualifier to the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships when she cleared a height of 13 feet, 9 ? inches in the pole vault to earn fourth-place finish in the event at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Her performance not only matches her indoor personal best in the event, but it also sets an indoor school record previously held by LSU junior Katelyn Rodrigue at 13-6 ?.
Laurent now ranks in a tie for No. 7 on the NCAA’s indoor performance list this season after she competed against one of the season’s strongest pole vault fields at the Tyson Invitational that saw six of the top 16 vaulters in attendance. She will be just the second LSU pole vaulter to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships after Rodrigue did so a year ago.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will return home this weekend to play host to the LSU Twilight prior to their trip to Lexington, Ky., to compete in the SEC Indoor Championships beginning Feb. 27.