BATON ROUGE – The national champion LSU men’s and women’s track and field programs are among the University leaders in competition and in the classroom each year, and the teams were recognized once again for their performance as part of the 2011 Tiger Athletic Foundation Academic Excellence Gala held Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU track and field athletes took home four of the 10 major academic awards handed out to LSU athletes during the gala as student-athletes from all 19 varsity sports were in attendance.
Senior NCAA champion Walter Henning was honored as the TAF Male Athlete of the Year following his dominating performance as a junior in 2010 in which he swept national championships in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw while leading the Tigers a season ago.
Henning, who is again the NCAA leader in the weight throw in 2011 with a seasonal-best mark of 72 feet, 7 inches, proved to be the nation’s most dominant thrower a season ago while being crowned champion of all 12 competitions in which he entered between the weight throw and hammer throw. That includes wins at both the SEC Championships and NCAA Championships during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
A native of Kings Park, N.Y., Henning was named one of 10 semifinalists nationwide for The Bowerman Award last spring. He is currently a member of the Bowerman Award Men’s Watch List in 2011, running his winning streak to 14-straight competitions with two wins in the weight throw as a senior.
Sophomore distance standout Laura Carleton represented the Lady Tigers during Sunday’s festivities after being named the TAF Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and one of four LSU student-athletes to receive this year’s Wally Pontiff, Jr. Academic Excellence Award. A two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and two-time recipient of the LSU Director’s Cup for Academic Excellence, Carleton boasts a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade-point average while pursuing a degree in management.
In addition, sophomore distance runner Cullen Doody was also presented the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Academic Excellence Award after posting a 3.902 cumulative GPA as a biological science major.
The Tiger Athletic Foundation also presented 38 track and field athletes with the LSU Director’s Cup for Academic Excellence and recognized 34 track and field members of the 2010 SEC Academic Honor Roll for their pursuit of excellence in the classroom during the 2009-10 academic season.
2011 TAF Academic Excellence Gala
LSU Track & Field Academic Award Winners
TAF Male Athlete of the Year
Walter Henning
TAF Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Laura Carleton
Wally Pontiff, Jr. Academic Excellence Award
Laura Carleton
Cullen Doody
LSU Scholar Athlete Director’s Cup Recipients
Brianne Bergeron
Joseph Caraway
Laura Carleton
Makenzie Chaumont
Richard Chautin
Roger Cooke
Anna-Cherie Daigle
Mark DeBlanc
Luke Dessauer
Jessica Deutsch
Cullen Doody
Amal Esmail
Michael Florek
Samantha Henry
Jenna Henssler
Jaora Johnson
Abbey Karin
Brieanna Kennedy
Rachel Laurent
Melissa LeBlanc
Danielle Martin
Marcus McGehee
Aaron Moore
Leigh-Ann Naccari
Melissa Ogbourne
Hope Phelps
Thomas Reinecke
Katelyn Rodrigue
Kyle Rose
Ross Roubion
Ryan Roubion
Lauren Saucier
Alan Sticker
Sean Swanner
Cassandra Tate
Garrek Thompson
Anthony Whitaker
Kim Williams
SEC Academic Honor Roll
Joseph Caraway
Laura Carleton
Richard Chautin
Roger Cooke
Mark DeBlanc
Luke Dessauer
Jessica Deutsch
Cullen Doody
Amal Esmail
Michael Florek
Samantha Henry
Jenna Henssler
Siedda Herbert
Gabrielle Jackson
Abbey Karin
Brieanna Kennedy
Rachel Laurent
Michael Lauro
Danielle Martin
Marcus McGehee
Aaron Moore
Melissa Ogbourne
Thomas Reinecke
Katelyn Rodrigue
Kyle Rose
Ross Roubion
Ryan Roubion
Lauren Saucier
Alan Sticker
Sean Swanner
Cassandra Tate
Garrek Thompson
James Thurn
Kim Williams