2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Complete Results in .pdf format
EUGENE, Ore. - Nicholls State University senior javelin thrower Leslie Bourgeois finished one place shy of All-American status as the only Nicholls student athlete to compete in consecutive national championships launched a throw of 47.63 m (156 ft. 3 in.) to place 13th at the 2010 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championship Finals on Saturday at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Bourgeois wasted no time getting started on Saturday as the Raceland native and Central Lafourche high school product led off with her third best throw of the season on her first of three attempts. The 47.63 m toss put her within 1.5 feet of becoming the first Colonel track and field student athlete to earn All-American status.
With All-American status bestowed upon the top eight American born finishers, and four international student athletes placing ahead of her, Bourgeois had her sights set on the final All-American spot until Long Beach State's Randi Hicks launched a throw of 48.05 (157 ft. 8 in.) to claim 12th place.
Bourgeois, a four-time NCAA postseason qualifier and three-time Southland Conference champion, lived up to her reputation of showing up big at big meets. Despite owning just the 33rd best regular season throw in the nation, Bourgeois punched her ticket to her second consecutive NCAA Championship Finals by placing fourth at the NCAA National Championship East Preliminary meet at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. at the end of May.
Her showing at the east prelims compelled voters of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's national poll to rank Bourgeois 17th in the nation heading into the finals.
Bourgeois caps her collegiate career as the only Nicholls student athlete to compete for a national title in consecutive seasons. Bourgeois claimed 22nd place at the 2009 national championships at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa to give top-25 and top-15 national finishes to her credit.
Bourgeois is the only Colonel student athlete to compete for an NCAA Division I national championship and joins the 1970 Nicholls baseball team (NCAA Division II runners-up) as the only Nicholls student-athletes to advance to the final day of NCAA competition.
Bourgeois will now wait to see if her season best throw of 48.30 m at the NCAA East Prelims will be good enough to earn her a place at the 2010 USA Track and Field National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa June 23-26. Bourgeois' 48.3 m throw surpasses the USATF's 'B' standard, leaving the final decision up to the selection committee. Bourgeois competed at the 2009 USATF National Championships at Eugene last June.
