BATON ROUGE – As members of the LSU track and field program prepare to compete this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships, head coach Dennis Shaver and senior standout Walter Henning earned recognition Monday with an outstanding 2011 indoor season with regional awards from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Shaver has been honored with the South Central Region Women’s Indoor Head Coach of the Year award, while Henning has been named the South Central Region Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
This marks the second time during his seven-year tenure as LSU’s head coach that Shaver has received an honor as the USTFCCCA South Central Region Women’s Head Coach of the Year. He picked up his first following the 2007 outdoor season in the first year of the USTFCCCA.
Just over one week ago, Shaver coached the Lady Tigers to the their 23rd SEC team championship in team history with their victory at the 2011 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships held in Fayetteville, Ark. LSU scored 135 points for the meet to win its league-leading 12th SEC Indoor title by a decisive margin at 17 points over the homestanding Arkansas Razorbacks.
Shaver personally coached nine Lady Tigers to All-SEC accolades in the sprint and hurdles with either an all-conference first-place or second-place finish in their respective events. That includes 2011 SEC Indoor champions Kimberlyn Duncan in the 200-meter dash and Jasmin Stowers in the 60-meter hurdles.
In the wake of capturing his third-straight SEC Indoor title in the men’s 35-pound weight throw, Henning has been named the South Central Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row.
The Bowerman Award candidate continues to prove just why he is the nation’s most dominant thrower as he has now won 16-straight competitions against collegiate opponents, which includes 10-straight wins in the weight throw indoors and six-straight wins in the hammer throw outdoors. He has taken the event title in all four collegiate weight throw competitions he has entered during the 2011 season.
The reigning NCAA Indoor champion will have the opportunity to defend his national crown this week as he enters the NCAA Indoor Championships with the nation’s No. 1-ranked performance with top mark of 76 feet, 6 ½ inches this season. That mark is the national leader by more than three feet.