Albert Fournette III went to Iowa for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 10 prepared to represent UL and compete with the nation’s top shot put throwers.

The competition did not go as planned for Fournette, who did not record a mark after making a foul in three attempts. But the sophomore from New Orleans was named an honorable mention All-American after finishing as one of the nation’s top 24 throwers this season.

Fournette rewrote the UL record book with a program-best throw of 59 feet-3.5 inches (18.07 meters) at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Preliminary on May 26. That’s after he had a throw of 57 feet-7.75 inches (17.57 meters) at the Northwestern State Invitational in April to break a 26-year-old school record.

"I did expect to perform a lot better than I did at nationals," Fournette said. "I had high expectations but didn’t meet them. I just had some technical problems. I’ll be working to get better in the summer and fall going into next season. The good thing is that I still have two years left (in college)."

Fournette, a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference performer, said a breakdown in his technique hurt him in Iowa.

"Once you start the spin you’ve got to get over your left knee and foot enough to get to the front of the ring correctly," he said. "I was leaning my shoulder and that caused me to go to the left instead of the middle and I didn’t have enough space to stop myself from going out of the ring."

Volunteer assistant coach David Bellar was proud of Fournette. He was the first Ragin’ Cajun to qualify for the outdoor nationals since Lawrence Willis in 2004.

"He put all of his effort in every throw," Bellar said. "I was very happy to see Albert have the ability to gear up and try to put himself in the mix. He has some work to do before the next season starts, but I think we will be going back to more national meets in the future."

While Fournette was disappointed with his results in Iowa, he was excited to hear about being an honorable mention All-American.

"I was happy but not as happy as I hoped to be," Fournette said. "I was an honorable mention All-American, and that’s still a pretty nice honor. I’m glad I made it to nationals and got to throw against the best people in the nation."

Fournette, who made the Dean’s List in the spring, will finish up summer classes soon. He then plans to train and work until the start of the fall semester.