DES MOINES, Iowa - Nicholls State University senior javelin thrower Leslie Bourgeois has been accepted into the field of the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships and is set to wrap up her amateur career as one of 16 competitors at the national meet beginning Friday evening at 6 p.m. at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bourgeois surpassed the USATF's 47.00 m (154 ft. 2 in.) 'B' standard for the event when she launched a season-best throw of 47.81 m at the Cole Lancoln Twilight at UL-Lafayette in April.  However, without reaching the 'A' standard of 51.50 m (168 ft. 11 in.), Bourgeois had to wait until Tuesday to be approved for competition by the selection committee.

Bourgeois, who won three Southland Conference championships qualified for NCAA competition four times and advanced to the national championship finals in two consecutive seasons, will compete unattached at the national meet.

Bourgeois is the only Nicholls student athlete to compete for national championships in consecutive seasons, the only Nicholls student athlete to compete for an NCAA Division I title, and the first Nicholls student athlete to compete for any national title since the 1970 NCAA DII national runner up Colonel baseball team.

The Raceland native enters competition after concluding her collegiate career at the 2010 NCAA National Championships at Eugene, Ore. on June 19.  Bourgeois, a Central Lafourche High School product finished 1.5 feet shy of earning All-American status and placed 13th at the NCAA national championships.

Live results and live streaming video for the 2010 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships are available at the official website of the meet.