The atmosphere was similar to a rock concert Thursday at Free State High’s library Thursday.

Dozens of students poured in to see the star, bringing signs, cameras, applause — everything but the lighters, pretty much.

The main event was Lauren Abney, a senior who signed a fake letter of intent in front of all her classmates Thursday morning to throw the javelin at Kentucky. Oh, she signed a real one, too, but for ceremonial purposes, track coach Steve Heffernan grabbed a sheet of white paper, scribbled a bunch of nonsense on it and told Abney to sign it for all the fans on hand.

“This is how they do it at Kentucky,” Heffernan quipped of the fake letter. “It’s as good as gold.”

Probably not gold, but Abney’s talent with the javelin will be worth plenty to the Wildcats, who scooped her up and gave her what Heffernan said was a very respectable scholarship package, considering she’s just a one-event track-and-field athlete.

Abney’s personal-best throw of 138 feet, 8 inches is one of the top throws in the United States this season. She currently is the second-best thrower in Kansas Class 6A.

A lifelong softball player, Abney has only thrown the javelin for three years. Much of the process in unleashing a powerful throw is similar to the fundamentals in softball, such as exploding the hips during a swing.

That, and it never hurts to just have a cannon coming out of your shoulder socket, either.

Free State High senior Lauren Abney beams during a ceremony. She was recognized Thursday at the FSHS library for signing to throw the javelin at Kentucky.

“Although the javelin is so much about technique, you still need to have a good arm,” Abney said. “Playing 13 years of softball definitely helped out.”

It has been just three seasons since Abney started throwing, but Heffernan claims that the dedication made by her and javelin coach Darrell Andrew made up for lost time.

Judging by the schools that were after her — including Michigan State, Duke, and about 25 other top-notch universities — Heffernan probably was right.

“She made the commitment to stay after practice and be there all the time,” Heffernan said. “Not a lot of people would have made that commitment.”

Abney’s the third Firebird to sign a Division One letter of intent this school year, joining swimmer Alex Brunfeldt (Indiana) and baseball’s Ryne Price (Kansas University).

6Sports video: High School Scholar Athlete of the Month 6Sports video: Abney chooses Kentucky