SE: Lauren Taubert’s All-Around Improvement Secures Her Spot in NCAA West Preliminary for Eighth Event, 400-Meter Hurdles
May 24, 2018 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State track and field's Lauren Taubert refers to the 400-meter hurdles as her "eighth event." Truthfully, it could be considered the sophomore heptathlete's ninth.
Taubert has run in the 4x400-meter relay in four meets this season, equaling the number of venues she's competed in for the 400 hurdles. In terms of training for the lap-long hurdles race, Taubert has spent more time on it than her freshman season, but that isn't saying much.
"To be honest, we worked on it very little in practice last year. It was enough for her with the heptathlon to not add more to her plate," Director of K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. "This year, we worked on it a little bit more. I still can't say we've spent a lot of time on the event."
This only makes what Taubert accomplished at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship — a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles to follow a fourth-place outing the heptathlon and precede a part in K-State's fifth-place 4x400 team — even more impressive.
In the prelims of the 400 hurdles, Taubert ran a 1:00.08 to secure the ninth and last qualifying spot to the finals. The next day, Taubert did even better. The Casper, Wyoming native sped her way to a personal-best time of 58.52 in the finals, more than a second faster than her previous best in the event.
"I haven't practiced it a lot," she said. "It's just kind of an eighth event, but it's really cool to see my time go down that much."
Taubert credits her performance in the 400 hurdles to a few key factors.
First, she pointed to her heptathlon finish. While she scored a personal-best total of 5,491 points and scored four points in the heptathlon, she quickly knew it would be short of the number she needed to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. To be exact, she came up 99 points shy of the last spot.
"Realizing I didn't get a mark to go to nationals, that gave me a little extra push to do well in the 400 hurdles," she said. "I wasn't really thinking about it going into the conference. I was just focused on the heptathlon, so after that going in prelims I just wanted to make finals to get points for the team because I knew that would be important."
Rovelto chose another word to describe her run: Heart.
"To have a second PR in lane one on your third day of competition," he said, "it just shows what a heart she's got."
Taubert's performance in lane one earned her team three crucial points in Waco, Texas, where K-State's women edged out Texas by four points for their second-straight Big 12 outdoor title.
Additionally, Taubert's breakout run also ensured her another meet this season. Without it, she may not have qualified for this week's NCAA West Preliminary meet in Sacramento, California, which only accepts the top-48 times from the West region.
"I wanted to get to regionals. I've been running the 400 hurdles a couple times this year, trying to get that regional mark, so I knew this was my last chance to get it. I think that adrenaline kind of kicked in and helped me out," said Taubert, whose finals time moved her up to 23rdin the West's qualifying list. "Knowing that it wasn't my main event is kind of cool. I wasn't focused on (the 400 hurdles) and I was running them basically to stay in shape for the 800 (for the heptathlon). Knowing that this is the event that I'm focused on now is pretty special. It was meant to be."
Taubert also made it meant to be.
Rovelto said she's made significant progress in the weight room, a place Taubert said she "never" spent time in while at Natrona County High School, a place she won three state championships for in the 300-meter hurdles.
"I can definitely see the weight room playing into everything that's been happening," she said, "and all the PRs I've been getting."
Taubert has recorded personal-bests in six of her seven heptathlon events this season, including four new ones at the Big 12 Championship. In the 100-meter hurdles, she's cut nearly three-quarters of a second off her top time from a year ago.
The combination of Taubert's improved strength and speed paired with Rovelto's expertise in the hurdles led to her clutch run at the Big 12 meet. With more than a week to focus solely on her "eighth event," Taubert said she's excited to see how she runs on Thursday in California but added that she's "taking it one race at a time."
"I made my goal pretty much of making to the regionals in the 400 hurdles," she said. "Now I'm just going to try my best to get to get to the next race and make it to quarterfinals. That would be special for me."
K-State track and field's Lauren Taubert refers to the 400-meter hurdles as her "eighth event." Truthfully, it could be considered the sophomore heptathlete's ninth.
Taubert has run in the 4x400-meter relay in four meets this season, equaling the number of venues she's competed in for the 400 hurdles. In terms of training for the lap-long hurdles race, Taubert has spent more time on it than her freshman season, but that isn't saying much.
"To be honest, we worked on it very little in practice last year. It was enough for her with the heptathlon to not add more to her plate," Director of K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. "This year, we worked on it a little bit more. I still can't say we've spent a lot of time on the event."
This only makes what Taubert accomplished at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship — a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles to follow a fourth-place outing the heptathlon and precede a part in K-State's fifth-place 4x400 team — even more impressive.
In the prelims of the 400 hurdles, Taubert ran a 1:00.08 to secure the ninth and last qualifying spot to the finals. The next day, Taubert did even better. The Casper, Wyoming native sped her way to a personal-best time of 58.52 in the finals, more than a second faster than her previous best in the event.
"I haven't practiced it a lot," she said. "It's just kind of an eighth event, but it's really cool to see my time go down that much."
Taubert credits her performance in the 400 hurdles to a few key factors.
First, she pointed to her heptathlon finish. While she scored a personal-best total of 5,491 points and scored four points in the heptathlon, she quickly knew it would be short of the number she needed to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. To be exact, she came up 99 points shy of the last spot.
"Realizing I didn't get a mark to go to nationals, that gave me a little extra push to do well in the 400 hurdles," she said. "I wasn't really thinking about it going into the conference. I was just focused on the heptathlon, so after that going in prelims I just wanted to make finals to get points for the team because I knew that would be important."
Rovelto chose another word to describe her run: Heart.
"To have a second PR in lane one on your third day of competition," he said, "it just shows what a heart she's got."
Taubert's performance in lane one earned her team three crucial points in Waco, Texas, where K-State's women edged out Texas by four points for their second-straight Big 12 outdoor title.
Additionally, Taubert's breakout run also ensured her another meet this season. Without it, she may not have qualified for this week's NCAA West Preliminary meet in Sacramento, California, which only accepts the top-48 times from the West region.
"I wanted to get to regionals. I've been running the 400 hurdles a couple times this year, trying to get that regional mark, so I knew this was my last chance to get it. I think that adrenaline kind of kicked in and helped me out," said Taubert, whose finals time moved her up to 23rdin the West's qualifying list. "Knowing that it wasn't my main event is kind of cool. I wasn't focused on (the 400 hurdles) and I was running them basically to stay in shape for the 800 (for the heptathlon). Knowing that this is the event that I'm focused on now is pretty special. It was meant to be."
Taubert also made it meant to be.
Rovelto said she's made significant progress in the weight room, a place Taubert said she "never" spent time in while at Natrona County High School, a place she won three state championships for in the 300-meter hurdles.
"I can definitely see the weight room playing into everything that's been happening," she said, "and all the PRs I've been getting."
Taubert has recorded personal-bests in six of her seven heptathlon events this season, including four new ones at the Big 12 Championship. In the 100-meter hurdles, she's cut nearly three-quarters of a second off her top time from a year ago.
The combination of Taubert's improved strength and speed paired with Rovelto's expertise in the hurdles led to her clutch run at the Big 12 meet. With more than a week to focus solely on her "eighth event," Taubert said she's excited to see how she runs on Thursday in California but added that she's "taking it one race at a time."
"I made my goal pretty much of making to the regionals in the 400 hurdles," she said. "Now I'm just going to try my best to get to get to the next race and make it to quarterfinals. That would be special for me."
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