The LSU track and field teams are gearing up for another banner year this spring and are in the midst of a strenuous fall training regimen designed to help them compete against the nation’s best. The Tigers and Lady Tigers form the premier combined program in all of collegiate track and field with an impressive 31 NCAA championships and 47 Southeastern Conference championships all-time.
Fifth in a nine-part series updating LSU’s progress during the fall training season will focus on the sprints and hurdles group.
BATON ROUGE – With a solid conditioning base already established through weeks of strength and endurance training, the LSU sprinters and hurdlers have now entered the home stretch of their fall training schedule as they continue their preparation for the upcoming 2011 season.
In accordance with NCAA rules, the LSU track teams were able to increase their weekly training regimen from eight hours to 20 hours per week on Monday, Nov. 1.
As a result, LSU’s sprinters and hurdlers are now able to utilize a more technical approach in the last few weeks of fall training. For example, athletes are now able to use blocks to perfect technique starts and use hurdles to build the rhythm that is necessary for future success in the events.
In addition, the LSU coaching staff has instituted a more challenging weight training program for athletes in which they now lift between 80 percent and 90 percent of their maximum weight on Olympic lifts.
“We continue to be impressed with the attitude and intensity that our athletes have brought to training this fall. That’s been a big key for us as we continue to prepare for the indoor season,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We always feel like this is the most demanding time of the season for our athletes. In our workouts, our training loads have increased in both volume and intensity with the work being done. There are also many challenges our athletes must face academically as we near the end of the semester.
“But we are excited about where we are at this point in training. We continue to have an outstanding prep phase as we get ready for the regular season. We simply could not ask for more form our student-athletes. Now, it’s important that we finish strong and carry that momentum into January.”
Shaver mentioned juniors Barrett Nugent and Cassandra Tate among athletes who have impressed him for the fall training season with their work ethic and improvement from last season.
Nugent will enter the 2011 campaign as a true NCAA title contender in the sprint hurdles after a breakout sophomore season a year ago in which he finished as the NCAA runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. Nugent also received All-America honors during the indoor season with a fourth-place finish nationally in the 60-meter hurdles.
In addition to sweeping SEC titles during the 2010 season, Nugent also set new LSU school records in his events with top times of 7.60 seconds in the 60 hurdles and 13.35 in the 110 hurdles.
Like Nugent, Tate emerged as one of the nation’s premier hurdlers a year ago with her performance in the 400-meter hurdles. In her first season competing in the event, Tate was crowned the SEC champion in the intermediate hurdles while also recording a personal best of 56.87 at the NCAA Championships.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will also welcome an infusion of elite talent into the sprints group this season as Shaver praised junior college transfer Horatio Williams and incoming freshman Toshika Sylvester with their performance in leading the LSU newcomers through fall training.
“While I am very pleased with the progress of our team as a whole this fall there are certainly several who have really taken their training to the next level this fall,” Shaver said. “They’ve really embrace the things we are trying to do this fall and have prepared themselves to have fantastic seasons. As will be the case in 2011, our success in the spring will be dictated in large part by what we accomplish here in the fall.”