By JON GARTEN

Salina Journal

Lolo Jones will represent the United States in the women's 100-meter hurdles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in August.

Nickiesha Wilson, from Jamaica, will compete in the women's 400-meter hurdles event, and Richard Thompson will run the men's 100-meter dash for Trinidad and Tobago.

What do all these world-class athletes have in common? They have been coached by a graduate of Ell-Saline High School.

Dennis Shaver, who graduated from Ell-Saline in 1974, is the head track and field coach at LSU. In August, he will be traveling to China to watch and train 12 current and former LSU athletes.

"LSU has great tradition," Shaver said. "There's great interest in both the men's and women's programs. That's the main thing that keeps us successful. The community and the university really care about seeing our athletes graduate and seeing them succeed."

At LSU, a home track and field event can draw as many as 3,000 to 4,000 fans, Shaver said. Between the men's and women's indoor and outdoor seasons, LSU has 31 national championships.

Shaver replaced Pat Henry as head coach in 2004 when Henry left to become the Texas A M head coach. Shaver had been an assistant coach at LSU for nine years before he became head coach.

While at LSU for 17 seasons, Henry won 27 NCAA track and field championships. Shaver won his first national championship in June when the women's outdoor team captured its first national title since 2003.

The women's team finished second in 2007. About an hour after winning the title, Shaver said he had already received 60 e-mails and text messages from LSU supporters.

"It's a sport that LSU fans and alumni take an extreme interest in," Shaver said. "When you've won 31 national championships, placing second is just sort of ho-hum. Any other university would be happy with that finish. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Shaver envisions a track and field program that not only wins championships, but also can generate revenue. He said his program tries to promote and present its events in a more entertaining manner.

"It's like going to a movie," he said. "You try to utilize a lot of video, and pick out certain events with select athletes to promote. You do the same type of things that the basketball team might do to promote its games. We can run entertaining events and generate revenue. It can be done."

From 1992-1995, Shaver was an assistant track coach at Auburn. He was the head track and field track coach at Barton County Community College from 1985-1991. He started his coaching career in 1981 as a track and football coach at Hutchinson Community College.

Shaver played football for Hutchinson Community College and at the University of Texas at Arlington.

While at Ell-Saline High School, Shaver played football, basketball and competed in track and field. He helped lead the football team to the state playoffs twice.

Even though Shaver is from the small town of Hedville, he still feels comfortable traveling to the Olympics to help his athletes compete. This year's Olympics in Beijing, China will be Shaver's fourth.

"Our sport is so much different than so many other sports like football where you have two teams and two coaches," he said. "At the Olympics, everyone is there -- all the best athletes and all the best coaches in the world. It's a high-pressure situation."