LSU’s Trinity Spooner has been in Eugene, Oregon, for the last week, but it hasn’t quite hit her that she is living out a dream she’s had for years.

The former South Beauregard High School javelin thrower is competing in the USA Track and Field Trials for a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

“It is crazy,” Spooner said. “It will take me a while for it to hit me.

“It will probably be whenever they are walking out, and they have their old gear from Olympics and USAs and whatnot. It is insane. I never imagined going this far.

“I figured I would at least make it to a Division II small school, much less a Division I SEC school, and I am going to the Trials my freshman year. I never could have imagined this. I could never have wished for this because I would have never thought that I would have made it this far.”

As a college freshman, Spooner placed third at the SEC championships (174 feet, 1 inch) and seventh at the NCAA championships (179-10) to earn U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American honors.

“I couldn’t have asked for any better taking third place at the SEC and winning an SEC (team) championship) my freshman year is pretty unreal,” Spooner said. “You are sitting there and we have seniors and fifth-years that are crying and just so excited.

“They have waited all that time and put in all that effort and finally got what they wanted and I just got here. I am just getting started, and it is just crazy.”

Her best throw this season was 181-3 at the LSU Alumni Gold meet, but she will have to raise her game this week. Spooner is ranked eighth in the field of 24 and will be up against the best women’s javelin throwers in the country, including all three of USA’s 2020 qualifiers in Maggie Malone-Hardin, Kara Winger, who recently came out of retirement, and Ariana Ince.

Winger is the American record holder at 223 -51/2. Malone-Hardin owns the meet record of 208-4.

“Honestly, it is insane,” Spooner said. “Whenever you are walking around, my coach tells me that person won gold or that person made it to three Olympics in a row.

“I am competing with the best of the best. Kara Winger came out of retirement. She is a really good javelin thrower, and I will get to throw against her. That is just crazy. It does not seem real, that is for sure.”

Spooner has improved by more than 10 feet since her high school days under LSU throws coach Andy Kokhanovsky.

“We love him,” Spooner said of Kokhanovsky. “He is great. He is very patient. He is very real, but he is also very encouraging. He will tell you what you need to hear. He will tell you how you need to get better, but he will also pick you up when you are not competing how you feel you should. He is one of the best coaches I could ask for at this level.”

The bar is high to qualify for the Olympic team. The field will start with 24 entries at 6 p.m. Friday. Each athlete will get three throws and the top 12 advance to the finals at 6:10 p.m. Sunday.

The first round of the finals will be three throws and the top eight will move on for three additional throws. The top three finishers go to Paris, but they need to reach the A-standard of 210 feet. So far this season, only Malone-Hardin has reached that mark with a 213-3.

“I do not think I will be hitting that 64 this year, but there is also a whole lot more that goes into it with rankings, there is a whole point system,” Spooner said. “There is a lot of math in there that could qualify me.

“I don’t think that will be an option for this year, but it will be a really good experience and a great way to learn for 2028 if I am able to compete still.”

In high school, Spooner won three Class 3A javelin state championships (2023, ’22, ’19) and had one of the top throws in the nation as a senior in 2023 at 171-11.