As a leader of the LSU men’s track and field team, senior pole vaulter Marcus McGehee will provide his insight into the LSU Track & Field program throughout the 2011 season as the Tigers and Lady Tigers join the national championship chase once again. Check back each week as McGehee provides a behind-the-scenes look into the program from an athlete’s perspective in competition, in the classroom and in the community.
On Your Mark with Marcus McGehee
To give the fans of LSU Track & Field a more in-depth look into what actually goes on during track season from the perspective of an athlete, I have decided to write this blog.
Each week before, and sometimes after the competition, I will be interviewing both a male and female competitor based on leadership qualities, how well they are expected to perform and also if they did well in the previous week’s competition.
So for the first meet of the year, I have decided to start the blog with a pair of seniors, Josh Dominguez and Kenyanna Wilson.
Dominguez earned his first career All-America award last year with a runner-up finish at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a PR tying jump of 17 feet, 7 inches. After training with him for four years now, I know how capable he is of jumping very big bars, and being a national title contender this year in the 2011 indoor season.
“We have a real good group of guys coming back from last year that have gained a lot of experience, so I think that we will be very competitive in the SEC and also on a national level,” Dominguez said when asked about the talented group of underclassmen pole vaulters under the guidance of Todd Lane.
Five-time All-American Kenyanna Wilson enters her senior season with a positive mindset that she and the rest of the Lady Tiger squad have what it takes to win SEC and NCAA championships this season.
Being on the track every day with these athletes means that I get to see what goes into the team on a day-to-day basis. This means that I can tell you without a doubt that this senior sprinter is one of the most influential leaders for the entire women’s team and will do everything that she can to make sure that this season is a good one.
When asked about how she feels about her squad’s preparation for the meet, Wilson said that she feels the coaches have really prepared them well.
“Even though there hasn’t been a track for us to run on, I feel that we have been challenged with a different type of training with the grass runs, and extra conditioning and that’s going to help us a lot when the season gets here, ” Wilson said.
We will start the 2011 season tomorrow with the Purple Tiger Invitational, and we hope all LSU fans can make it out to the Carl Maddox Field House and help us get off to a fast start.