BATON ROUGE – LSU All-American Walter Henning was honored Tuesday for his record-setting performance this past weekend at the New Mexico Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center as he was named the Southeastern Conference Male Field Athlete of the Week.
Henning shattered his own personal best in the 35-pound weight throw with a winning throw of 75 feet, 8 inches on his fifth attempt of Saturday’s competition.
He eclipsed his own school record by nearly 15 inches as he set the previous mark of 74-5 ½ in winning a SEC title at the SEC Indoor Championships last season.
A junior from Kings Park, N.Y., Henning has certainly established himself as an NCAA title contender in 2010 as he is now the NCAA leader in the 35-pound weight throw. He wrapped up the weekend nearly one foot ahead of his nearest competitor on the NCAA list as Memphis standout Steffen Nerdel follows in the No. 2 spot with a seasonal-best performance of 74-10.
Henning is looking to build upon his All-America performance from a year ago when he took fourth place at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.