Much will be written heading into the 2015 season about which Lady Tigers will step up to fill the void left behind by the departures of such All-Americans as Denise Hinton, Lynnika Pitts, Jasmin Stowers and Nikita Tracey from last year’s squad. After all, they formed a senior class that accounted for 16 All-America selections during their respective careers in Baton Rouge that was capped with a sixth-place team finish during the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships to end the 2014 season.
But the Lady Tigers return the likes of NCAA Outdoor shot put silver medalist Tori Bliss and All-American hurdler Chanice Chase, as well as national hopefuls Nataliyah Friar, Jada Martin, Rebekah Wales and one of the nation’s top recruiting classes to reload for another NCAA run in 2015.
Last in a 10-part series previews a deep and talented group of throwers competing for the Lady Tigers during the 2015 season.
Women’s Throws
One round of throws is all that separated Tori Bliss from making history as the first Lady Tiger in the program’s storied history to be crowned the NCAA’s shot put champion.
Already the school-record holder after breaking her own outdoor mark with a winning toss of 56 feet, 9 ¼ inches at the LSU Invitational in her 2014 regular-season finale, Bliss stepped into the shot put circle at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time in her career and put another record mark of 57-4 ¼ in the second round to take the lead in the NCAA semifinals.
After taking the top spot into her first career NCAA final, Bliss held her advantage through five rounds with only the final round of throws to come. That’s when Iowa State’s Christina Hillman eclipsed the Lady Tiger standout with a winning mark of 58-2 in an exciting finish to the competition.
Bliss still made history by not only smashing her own school-record mark, but she also secured a school-record finish of second place in the shot put final at the NCAA Championships with her efforts.
Also an NCAA quarterfinalist in the discus throw during her junior season a year ago, Bliss ended the 2014 campaign with a personal best of 171-1 in the event as she returns for her senior season as one of the NCAA’s top dual throwers in 2015. She will look to step up and lead a strong group of throwers for the Lady Tigers following the departure of weight and hammer throw All-American Denise Hinton.
Another NCAA Championships qualifier also returns to the group in the form of rising sophomore Rebekah Wales as one of the nation’s top javelin throwers during her rookie season. After joining the program as one of the top prep javelin throwers nationally in the Class of 2013, Wales posted a personal best of 166-11 in her collegiate debut at Louisiana Tech’s Jim Mize Invitational to rank among the NCAA’s Top 20 performers for the 2014 season.
Wales scored four points for the Lady Tigers with a fifth-place finish in her debut at the 2014 SEC Outdoor Championships before taking home a 19th-place finish at the NCAA meet. She ended her season by representing the United States at the IAAF World Junior Championships last summer.
The Lady Tigers will also feature three other former NCAA qualifiers in the javelin as Wales is set to be joined once again by senior Annie Simoneaux and juniors Mayme Cook and Doren Welch.
Like Wales, each is also a former scorer for the Lady Tigers at the SEC Outdoor Championships as Simoneaux (157-11) was the 2012 SEC Outdoor silver medalist and Cook (158-8) and Welch (154-9) are a sixth-place finisher in the event in each of the past two seasons.
LSU’s strength in the throws for the 2015 season has been solidified after recruiting two premier prep prospects in freshmen Gabby Figueroa (Austintown, Ohio) and Sidnie Wilder (Cameron, Wisconsin).
A product of Austintown-Fitch High School, Figueroa is the No. 2-ranked prep performer all-time in the United States in the indoor weight throw with a personal best of 64-11, while she also owns a best of 180-1 in the hammer throw outdoors. Her senior season was highlighted by being crowned the New Balance Indoor Nationals champion in the weight and a New Balance Outdoor Nationals bronze medalist in the hammer throw for the 2014 season.
Hailing from Cameron High School, Wilder is a former Track & Field News High School All-American in the hammer throw as she competes with a personal best of 181-8. Wilder was the country’s No. 5-ranked hammer thrower nationally at the prep level during the 2014 outdoor season.