BATON ROUGE -- The tradition of the LSU track and field program has been built on recruiting the very best athletes from around the world, and that tradition continues as the coaching staff has inked six athletes to National Letters of Intent during the spring signing period.
Sprinter Ade Alleyne-Forte and hurdler Barrett Nugent will continue their already stellar careers as Tigers, while sprinter Taylor Evans, throwers Allison Horner and Brieanna Kennedy, and pole vaulter Rachel Laurent look to make an immediate impact on the collegiate level as Lady Tigers.
“We’re very excited about the young men and women we’ve added to our program this early in the signing period,” said LSU head coach Dennis Shaver. “We’ve addressed some very specific needs with both our men’s and women’s teams, and we feel like we’ve signed six student-athletes who will represent LSU well both in the classroom and in the competitive athletic arena.”
Alleyne-Forte comes to LSU from his native Trinidad and Tobago where he established himself as one of the world’s premier young 400-meter runners with his performance in 2007.
 |
 |
| Allison Horner | |
 |
|
| Rachel Laurent | |
 |
|
| Taylor Evans |
His personal best was the 12th-fastest time in the world recorded by an athlete under the age of 20 during the outdoor season a year ago. Alleyne-Forte’s international experience also includes appearances at both the 2005 World Youth Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, and the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China.
“Ade is a young man who has the potential to develop into a great quarter miler here at LSU,” Shaver said. “He comes to us with a wealth of international experience and is without a doubt one of the premier young 400 runners in the world. We’re excited about adding him to our team.”
Nugent is set to join the Tigers as one of the elite hurdle prospects in the United States as his seasonal best time of 13.70 in the 110-meter hurdles ranked No. 7 in the nation in 2007 and was the second-fastest time recorded by a member of the Class of 2008.
The native of Maurice, La., was a three-time Class 3A state champion in the 100-meter dash (10.46), the 110-meter hurdles (13.72) and the 300-meter hurdles (37.40) while competing for North Vermillion High School at the 2007 LHSAA State Outdoor Championships at the Bernie Moore Track Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Nugent actually broke his own state record in the 300 hurdles with his seasonal best time of 37.40 at the state meet en route to being named the meet’s Most Outstanding Performer for Class 3A.
“We’ve had the privilege of watching Barrett mature before our very eyes,” Shaver said. “He’ll run the sprint hurdles here at LSU, but I also believe he could develop into one of the nation’s top 400 hurdlers even though he’s never competed in the event. He has tremendous athletic ability, comes from a great family and is just the kind of young man we want representing our program.”
Evans will join the Lady Tiger program following an outstanding career at South Mountain High School in Phoenix, Ariz., where she is the state’s top 400-meter runner for this signing class. She comes from an impressive track and field pedigree as her father, Dwayne Evans, was an Olympic bronze medalist in the 200-meter dash at the 1976 summer games in Montreal, Canada.
Evans has led South Mountain to three straight Class 5A Division II state titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007, while she is also a seven-time individual state champion during her illustrious career.
She is the two-time defending state champion in the 400 meters with a lifetime best of 54.65 in the event, while she has also run on the three-time defending state champion 4x400-meter relay team. In fact, Evans was a member of the foursome that set the state record at the state meet in 2005 with a winning time of 3 minutes, 51.02 seconds.
“We’re fortunate to have someone with Taylor’s pedigree join our program,” Shaver said. “Like Ade, she has great potential as a 400-meter runner, and we believe she can make an immediate as a member of our 4x400-meter relay pool. Her father was an exciting athlete to watch in his day, and we look forward to watching Taylor develop during her career here at LSU.”
With the signing of Horner and Kennedy, the Lady Tigers bolster their roster with two of the nation’s elite throws prospects who are sure to make an immediate impact as freshmen.
Horner’s personal best mark of 177 feet, 9 inches in the hammer throw was ranked No. 1 in the country during the outdoor season in 2007. She won the hammer throw title at the 2007 Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., with a mark of 166-11 to finish nearly nine feet ahead of the second-place competitor.
The product of Lovett High School in Marietta, Ga., won the intermediate girl’s hammer throw title at the 2005 USATF Junior Olympic National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., while she was also the Region 6-2A and Class 2A state champion in the shot put during the 2007 season.
Like Horner, Kennedy enjoyed a breakout season in 2007 as she set a new meet record in the young women’s javelin with a throw of 146-5 to win the event title at the USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in Walnut, Calif. She also won the Junior Olympic title in the young women’s discus with a personal best throw of 149-3.
Kennedy was a silver medalist in the javelin at the 2006 Nike Outdoor Nationals with a personal best throw of 150-0, while she followed with another silver medal at the meet in 2007. Her personal best throw in the javelin ranked No. 8 in the United States by a high school girl in 2006.
She is a three-time defending state champion in the discus for Caravel Academy in Newark, Del., and has won a total of seven state titles in the discus and shot put during her high school career.
“We look for both Allison and Brieanna to make an immediate contribution to our throws group when they arrive on campus next fall,” Shaver said. “In order to be a complete track and field team, it’s important to recruit athletes who can compete nationally across all event areas. We feel like we’ve done that by signing two young women with this kind of potential in the throws.”
In Laurent, the Lady Tigers have signed not only the top-ranked pole vault recruit in the country, but arguably the nation’s No. 1 field event prospect for the Class of 2008.
Laurent’s overall personal best vault of 13-7 ¼ set earlier this season at the Louisiana High School Indoor Qualifier at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse currently ranks as the No. 2 vault in the country for the 2008 indoor season. Her outdoor seasonal best clearance of 13-5 ¼ ranked No. 4 in the country for 2007 and was the top mark recorded by a member of the 2008 signing class.
Laurent, a product of Vanderbilt Catholic High School in Houma, La., would have earned NCAA All-America honors as a high school junior a year ago as her top mark of 13-5 ¼ would have finished fifth at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Laurent was named to the 2007 Girls All-USA Track and Field Team by USA Today after winning a national title at the Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, Md. She followed during the outdoor season by winning a bronze medal at the Nike Outdoor Nationals and finishing fourth at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis this past summer.
“Rachel’s accomplishments speak for themselves,” Shaver said. “She has the ability to be an All-American caliber performer as soon as she steps onto campus as a freshman. Rachel is someone I’d love to have on our roster this season because I believe she would make a major impact in our goal to win a national championship. Our future looks very bright in the women’s pole vault.
“By signing six student-athletes of this quality both on and off the track, we feel like we’re off to a great start in our recruiting efforts for the Class of 2008. We’ve addressed some very specific needs with this group, and we look forward to what their future holds here at LSU.”