BATON ROUGE — LSU freshman sprinter Gabriel Mvumvure (voom-VOO-ray) has raced out of the blocks this outdoor season and was rewarded for his performance in the season opener this past weekend by being named the SEC Male Freshman Athlete of the Week on Tuesday.
Mvumvure, a native of Harare, Zimbabwe, clocked a pair of NCAA regional qualifying times in the 100 and 200 meters in the Tigers’ opener at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
He ran his first ever 100-meter race on American soil on Saturday and crossed the finish line with a new personal best and wind-legal time of 10.37 seconds to win the event title and qualify for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships later this spring.
Mvumvure joined the LSU track and field program with lofty credentials as he won the 100-meter title at the African Junior Championships this past summer with a previous personal best of 10.45. His season opening time is the fastest 100-meter time recorded by an LSU freshman since former Tiger Chris Cummings ran a seasonal best time of 10.31 in 1995.
His time of 10.37 is also the second-fastest time recorded in the NCAA to this point in the young season and ranks No. 20 of all 100-meter sprinters worldwide.
In addition, Mvumvure is also qualified to run the 200 meters at the regional meet following his performance on Friday night in which he won the event title with a season opening time of 21.23 in his first ever outdoor 200-meter race at the collegiate level. The 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships are scheduled for May 30-31 in Fayetteville, Ark.