Carlsen signs with LSU for track and field
When Northeast Bradford senior Kelsey Carlsen made her official visit to LSU, she immediately knew she had found where she wanted to go and throw the javelin next year.
"Really it was a great opportunity," Carlsen said. "I knew if I turned it down I would regret it for the rest of my life."
Right from the moment she stepped foot on campus Carlsen knew it was the place for her.
"It was a beautiful campus," she said. "They have great school spirit. It's just incredible."
The school also was a perfect fit for her plan to study environmental engineering.
"It was the perfect academic fit," Carlsen said.
One of the things that first drew Carlsen to the school was a connection that one of her throwing coaches had with the coach at LSU.
"He is a longtime friend of his and that's one of the things that first got me thinking about them," Carlsen said.
There were other schools Carlsen was considering, and she made an official visit to Kent State, where Northeast Bradford graduate Rob Robbins is a freshman throwing javelin.
"I had a few schools I looked at a little bit," Carlsen said. "I visited Kent State as well. That was the other place that I really looked at, but LSU was just a better fit for me academically."
The one tough thing for Carlsen is going to be the distance away from home, but she knows she will adjust to that.
"That was the one thing I took into consideration," she said. "But, they are like a big family down there. I figured I wouldn't miss this too much because I'll be having so much fun down there."
Carlsen is ready for the chance to see how she does against SEC level competition.
"I am excited," she said. "I'm not too nervous. Just because other people will be doing well doesn't mean I can't do well to."
Carlsen knows that she is going to a program that has some great throwers.
"They are a very successful team," Carlsen said. "They have won the most women's NCAA Championships by far of anyone. They have got some good throwers there. I just hope I can come in and work hard to improve."
Going into next year Carlsen knows she is going to have to work hard and try and improve on her distance.
"Right now I am aiming on 160 feet and then up from there," Carlsen said.
One thing that will be different for Carlsen is now she will be focusing on just track and field, instead of playing four sports like she is now with soccer, basketball, track and field and softball.
"I enjoy playing all the sports that I do," she said. "But, it will be nice to get good at one thing for once."
Having picked a school, now Carlsen can focus on enjoying the rest of her senior year.
"It's definitely a relief to be able to focus on playing and not have to worry about being recruited," Carslen said. "It was pretty stressful. There were a lot of schools talking to me."
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