Kansas State University Athletics
SE: K-State Track and Field’s Lauren Taubert Surprises Self in Qualifying for NCAA Indoor Championships Pentathlon
Mar 05, 2019 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Lauren Taubert did not expect to be going to Birmingham, Alabama this week for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Truthfully, it was not even a goal of hers.
"It just wasn't in my head," Taubert said, as she qualified in the pentathlon and will start on Friday. "Outdoors was the goal."
With only the top 16 in each event qualifying — Taubert was No. 15 this year — the NCAA indoor meet is one of the hardest meets to qualify for in the world. For reference, the NCAA Outdoor Championships take 24 in each event.
Even after Taubert posted a personal-best score of 4,100 in the pentathlon to place second at the Big 12 Championship last week in Lubbock, Texas, she figured she would start preparing for outdoor season this week.
"We didn't think it was going to be good enough. Even Coach (Cliff) Rovelto didn't think it was going to be good enough," Taubert said. "It was just kind of a lucky thing that happened."
Taubert was lucky in the fact that a few other pentathletes across the country did not score higher in their conference meets. But not as lucky as she thinks. Her score would have qualified her for six of the previous nine NCAA Indoor meets but only one of the last four.
So, as K-State's track and field teams ate dinner after the women finished third at the Big 12 meet, Taubert and Rovelto began going through every other conference's meet results on their phones. Just in case.
After each search that showed a lower score than hers, she or Rovelto would reply with a, "We're good there." Finally, it boiled down to one conference. Taubert's score survived that search as well, which is when it all began to set in for the junior.
"I did it. I made it," she said of her initial thoughts. "It's still sinking in. It doesn't feel real yet. I'm really excited about it."
Taubert, unbeknownst to her, also continued K-State's streak of sending a pentathlete to the NCAA Indoor Championships. She extended it to nine straight years, tied with Arkansas for the longest active streak in the nation. Doing so added her name alongside the likes of former Wildcats such as Akela Jones, Ryann Krais and Erica Twiss.
"Just to be able to be part of that is super special. To be able to be coached by Coach Rovelto, it means so much to me that he wanted me here and he believed in me all along," Taubert said. "This atmosphere, I love being able to practice around my teammates, who are always pushing me, and my coaches and the trainers who all helped me get to this point.
"It wasn't just me that got to nationals. It was everyone who helped me."
Likewise, Taubert described her journey to this point in three words: "It's a process." Rovelto, she said, has repeated this phrase to her to the point where it's now part of her general mindset.
"Everything is just a process," she said, "like the strength (training), getting in shape and being able to even mentally get stronger."
Buying into this took time, however.
A three-sport standout at Natrona County High School in Wyoming, Taubert won 11 state titles between volleyball, track and field and basketball. She broke 11 school records in track. In 2016, she was named Wyoming's Gatorade Player of the Year.
All of this, for the most part, came pretty naturally, too.
"I never did weights," Taubert said.
Strength training was one of the big adjustments she faced early on at K-State. She also had to overcome the frustration of her marks not improving as quickly as she wanted. In the high jump and long jump, they actually got worse early on.
"My marks in high school are still better than what I did my freshman year," she said, "so that was really frustrating."
So was missing the cut line for the NCAA Outdoor Championships by 99 points last season. Again, she channeled the disappointment into her offseason workouts.
It's paid off, too. Taubert has set personal-bests in long jump and the 60-meter hurdles this season, while coming very close to her top marks in the three other events.
"It really pushed me to get stronger this summer in the weight room and pushed me to do my workouts," Taubert said of missing NCAA Outdoors last year. "Coming in at the beginning of the school year, it was in the back of my mind that I needed to get to nationals, and I had to do my best at every single workout and put my all into it every single day at practice.
"It was meant to be."
Lauren Taubert did not expect to be going to Birmingham, Alabama this week for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Truthfully, it was not even a goal of hers.
"It just wasn't in my head," Taubert said, as she qualified in the pentathlon and will start on Friday. "Outdoors was the goal."
With only the top 16 in each event qualifying — Taubert was No. 15 this year — the NCAA indoor meet is one of the hardest meets to qualify for in the world. For reference, the NCAA Outdoor Championships take 24 in each event.
Even after Taubert posted a personal-best score of 4,100 in the pentathlon to place second at the Big 12 Championship last week in Lubbock, Texas, she figured she would start preparing for outdoor season this week.
"We didn't think it was going to be good enough. Even Coach (Cliff) Rovelto didn't think it was going to be good enough," Taubert said. "It was just kind of a lucky thing that happened."
Taubert was lucky in the fact that a few other pentathletes across the country did not score higher in their conference meets. But not as lucky as she thinks. Her score would have qualified her for six of the previous nine NCAA Indoor meets but only one of the last four.
So, as K-State's track and field teams ate dinner after the women finished third at the Big 12 meet, Taubert and Rovelto began going through every other conference's meet results on their phones. Just in case.
After each search that showed a lower score than hers, she or Rovelto would reply with a, "We're good there." Finally, it boiled down to one conference. Taubert's score survived that search as well, which is when it all began to set in for the junior.
"I did it. I made it," she said of her initial thoughts. "It's still sinking in. It doesn't feel real yet. I'm really excited about it."
Taubert, unbeknownst to her, also continued K-State's streak of sending a pentathlete to the NCAA Indoor Championships. She extended it to nine straight years, tied with Arkansas for the longest active streak in the nation. Doing so added her name alongside the likes of former Wildcats such as Akela Jones, Ryann Krais and Erica Twiss.
"Just to be able to be part of that is super special. To be able to be coached by Coach Rovelto, it means so much to me that he wanted me here and he believed in me all along," Taubert said. "This atmosphere, I love being able to practice around my teammates, who are always pushing me, and my coaches and the trainers who all helped me get to this point.
"It wasn't just me that got to nationals. It was everyone who helped me."
Likewise, Taubert described her journey to this point in three words: "It's a process." Rovelto, she said, has repeated this phrase to her to the point where it's now part of her general mindset.
"Everything is just a process," she said, "like the strength (training), getting in shape and being able to even mentally get stronger."
Buying into this took time, however.
A three-sport standout at Natrona County High School in Wyoming, Taubert won 11 state titles between volleyball, track and field and basketball. She broke 11 school records in track. In 2016, she was named Wyoming's Gatorade Player of the Year.
All of this, for the most part, came pretty naturally, too.
"I never did weights," Taubert said.
Strength training was one of the big adjustments she faced early on at K-State. She also had to overcome the frustration of her marks not improving as quickly as she wanted. In the high jump and long jump, they actually got worse early on.
"My marks in high school are still better than what I did my freshman year," she said, "so that was really frustrating."
So was missing the cut line for the NCAA Outdoor Championships by 99 points last season. Again, she channeled the disappointment into her offseason workouts.
It's paid off, too. Taubert has set personal-bests in long jump and the 60-meter hurdles this season, while coming very close to her top marks in the three other events.
"It really pushed me to get stronger this summer in the weight room and pushed me to do my workouts," Taubert said of missing NCAA Outdoors last year. "Coming in at the beginning of the school year, it was in the back of my mind that I needed to get to nationals, and I had to do my best at every single workout and put my all into it every single day at practice.
"It was meant to be."
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