BATON ROUGE – While many of LSU’s upperclassmen prepare to represent their countries at the Olympic Games this summer, five freshmen look to earn their spot on Team USA competing this summer at the World Junior Championships as they compete at E.C. Billy Hayes Track in Bloomington, Ind., this weekend at 2012 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The three-day championship kicks off Friday at Indiana’s Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex as the competitors in each event must finish in the top two to earn their right to represent the United States at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships being held July 10-15 in Barcelona, Spain.
Representing LSU are Rodney Brown (shot put, discus), Quincy Downing (400 meters), Aaron Ernest (100 meters, 200 meters), Jeremy Tuttle (hammer, javelin) and Kendra White (400 meters).
Ernest just wrapped up his rookie campaign with the Tigers as the premier freshman sprinter nationally as he claimed three All-America honors and scored 7.5 points while helping to lead the Tigers to a runner-up team finish at the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend.
Ernest was crowned an NCAA champion as the second leg of LSU’s winning 4×100-meter relay while he teamed with senior Barrett Nugent, senior Keyth Talley and sophomore Shermund Allsop to run a time of 38.38 seconds in Saturday’s national final for the seventh-fastest relay time in collegiate history. That was also a seasonal best for the Tigers with the No. 3-ranked performance in program history.
In addition, Ernest was the only freshman in the meet to qualify for the NCAA final in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints this season. He earned an impressive fifth-place finish in the 200-meter final and an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter final while taking home All-America honors in each event.
Ernest, a native of New Orleans, ended the collegiate season by setting impressive personal records with a time of 10.17 in the 100 meters and 20.54 in the 200 meters as one of the NCAA’s top prospects.
Downing also helped the Tigers take home a second-place finish in the men’s team standings last week as he ran the second leg on LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that took home the bronze medal with third place in the NCAA final. Downing raced with seniors Robert Simmons, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Riker Hylton to earn All-America honors with the third-fastest time in team history at 3:01.21.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Downing was also an NCAA semifinalist in the 400-meter dash after running a lifetime PR of 46.18 in the quarterfinals at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Jacksonville, Fla., after running 46.38 in the first round. He earned a 21st-place finish in the national semifinals.
Tuttle also made his collegiate debut at the NCAA Championships while competing in the javelin after he earned a 12th-place finish at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds. He followed by finishing in 21st place in the event in the national semifinals held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Tuttle, a native of Sierra Vista, Ariz., was set a personal best of 227 feet, 6 inches in the javelin to capture a fifth-place finish at the SEC Championships. He also set a PR of 188-9 in the college hammer.
Brown has also proven himself as one of the NCAA’s top young discus throwers as a freshman in 2012 as he eclipsed the 190-foot mark on two occasions while throwing the college implement. He opened the outdoor season by throwing a PR of 190-8 for second place at the Louisiana Classics, while he also set his mark of 190-3 at the Texas Relays. He qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in the event.
A native of Chappell Hill, Texas, Brown is ready to compete in both the shot put and discus this weekend at the USA Junior Championships. He has set a lifetime PR of 56-3 in the shot put in 2012.
White will round out the LSU contingent making the trip to Bloomington for the USA Junior event as she will line up in the junior women’s 400-meter dash. A product of McCluer North High School in St. Louis, Mo., White owns a lifetime PR of 53.72 in the 400 meters during her career.
Time Schedule for LSU Entries at 2012 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Note: Times are Central and subject to change based on round-by-round qualifying
Friday, June 15
2:00 p.m. – Junior Men’s Hammer Throw (Jeremy Tuttle)
3:40 p.m. – Junior Men’s 100 Meters Prelims (Aaron Ernest)
6:00 p.m. – Junior Men’s Javelin Throw (Jeremy Tuttle)
6:50 p.m. – Junior Men’s 100 Meters Final (Aaron Ernest)
Saturday, June 16
3:00 p.m. – Junior Men’s Shot Put (Rodney Brown)
5:10 p.m. – Junior Women’s 400 Meters Prelims (Kendra White)
5:35 p.m. – Junior Men’s 400 Meters Prelims (Quincy Downing)
7:05 p.m. – Junior Men’s 200 Meters Prelims (Aaron Ernest)
Sunday, June 17
2:30 p.m. – Junior Men’s Discus (Rodney Brown)
3:15 p.m. – Junior Women’s 400 Meters Final (Kendra White)
3:25 p.m. – Junior Men’s 400 Meters Final (Quincy Downing)
4:05 p.m. – Junior Men’s 200 Meters Final (Aaron Ernest)