BATON ROUGE – While preparing to compete this weekend as a NCAA Championships contender in both the long jump and triple jump, LSU junior Damar Forbes was recognized Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association as the South Central Region Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year for his effort during the 2012 indoor season.
Forbes is the team’s third-straight selection as the USTFCCCA South Central Region Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year as one of the nation’s leading performers in both the long jump and triple jump.
He joins former Tiger national champion Walter Henning in winning the award as Henning was picked in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011 before claiming NCAA titles in the weight throw.
Forbes is currently the NCAA’s No. 1-ranked performer in the long jump with a seasonal-best and indoor personal-best mark of 26 feet, 7 ¾ inches as he is a favorite to win his first career national title at the 2012 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships beginning Friday in Nampa, Idaho. Forbes is also one of the NCAA’s Top 10 athletes in the triple jump for the 2012 indoor season as his lifetime best mark of 52-10 ¼ is the No. 7-ranked performance nationally on the campaign.
He leaped to the top of the NCAA rankings in the long jump this season while taking the title at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10 with an NCAA qualifying mark of 26-7 ¾. That effort also vaulted Forbes into the No. 3 spot on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list in the men’s long jump.
Forbes most recently wrapped up the 2012 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships held on Feb. 24-26 as LSU’s leading scorer with 14 points during the meet following an All-SEC runner-up finish in the long jump and a bronze-medal winning third-place finish in the triple jump.
A native of Decatur, Ga., Forbes jumped 26-1 for his second-straight SEC Indoor silver medal in the long jump and a personal best of 52-10 ¼ for his first SEC Indoor bronze medal in the triple jump.
Forbes was twice named the SEC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week during the regular season with awards in back-to-back weeks on Feb. 7 and Feb. 14. He was first selected as the SEC’s top field event performer following a sweep of long jump (26-0 ¼) and triple jump (51-10 ¾) titles for the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held Feb. 3-4 in New York. That was followed with his performance at the Tyson Invitational in which he became the NCAA leader in the long jump at 26-7 ¾ for the win.