Fayetteville, Ark. – JuVaughn Harrison led the charge for the LSU track and field program on day two of the 2021 SEC Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Center by winning the long jump and high jump SEC event titles. He won with marks of 27′ 4″ in the long jump and 7′ 2.50″ in the high jump.
Harrison had himself a wild two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. First it was the high jump at 12 p.m. CT; Harrison entered this event as the two-time defending indoor SEC champion. He only had to clear three bars in what was a workmanlike and efficient showing. He entered at a height of 6′ 11.75″ (2.13 meters) and cleared that easily. By the time he cleared his second bar of the event – a height of 7′ 1.50″ – there was only one competitor left with him. He went on to get up and over the bar of 7′ 2.50″ (2.20 meters) that wound up winning him the title after Auburn’s Dontavious Hill could not clear 7′ 3.75″ on his final try. Knowing he had the long jump coming up shortly, Harrison retired from the event.
The high jump was a good, smooth start for me today,” Harrison said. “Coming into the event, I knew I had two events on the schedule so I was trying to be as efficient as I could be. It meant a lot to me (to win third straight SEC title) and after I cleared that last bar my focus was on to the long jump.”
About an hour after the completion of the high jump it was on to the long jump for Harrison who entered that event as the favorite as well. Harrison had never won a long jump SEC title, but he changed that with his first leap of the event. The senior leaped out to a commanding lead of 27′ 4″ (8.33 meters) on his first jump of the event. That mark broke Marquis Dendy’s (Florida) SEC meet record of 27′ 0.75″ that was set in 2013; it also makes Harrison the fifth best performer in collegiate history, the LSU school record holder, and he is now tied for the world lead in the event in 2021.
“I was a little surprised by the mark,” Harrison said about his mammoth leap. “The run felt good, the takeoff felt good, but I didn’t think it was as far as that. I saw the 27′ 4″ mark on the board and that made me happy. I knew I had that in me and it felt awesome to get it out there in competition.”
?? @jaay_jumps
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?? 27′ 4″
?? SEC Meet Record#GeauxTigers— LSU Track & Field (@LSUTrackField) February 26, 2021
After it was all said and done, Harrison became only the third man in SEC history to sweep the high jump and long jump SEC indoor titles. He joined LSU’s Thomas Dukes who achieved the feat in 1957 and Michael Morrison (2006) of Florida to do so. Harrison now has five career SEC event titles: 2019 indoor high jump, 2019 outdoor high jump, 2020 indoor high jump, 2021 indoor high jump, and 2021 indoor long jump.
It wasn’t just Harrison who provided points for LSU in the jumps, but five other jumpers placed in the top eight to score for the Tigers. On the women’s side, Aliyah Whisby captured silver in the women’s long jump with a personal best of 21′ 8.25″ (6.61 meters); the mark ranks fourth in the NCAA this year and No. 3 in the LSU record book.
The mark of 21′ 8.25″ (6.61m) ranks No. 4 in the NCAA this year and third in the LSU record book!
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— LSU Track & Field (@LSUTrackField) February 27, 2021
Abigail O’Donoghue and Nyagoa Bayak totaled 12 points for the Tigers in the women’s high jump. O’Donoghue cleared 6′ 1.25″ (1.86 meters) to tie for second and Bayak went over 5′ 10.75″ (1.80 meters) to take home fourth place. Ronnie Rounds pitched in a point in the men’s high jump with a personal best of 6′ 8″ (2.03 meters), and Lisa Gunnarsson was the final scorer of the night in the women’s pole vault with a third-place showing; she went up and over a bar of 14′ 3.25″ (4.35 meters).
The rest of the day featured qualifying on the track. The Tigers advanced six men to Saturday’s finals and the women moved three athletes to the finals. A full list of Saturday’s finalists can be viewed below. Milan Young (8.08/60 meter hurdles), Favour Ofili (23.15/200 meters), and Dorian Camel (21.03/200 meters) all registered PRs to get themselves a spot in the finals.
After two days of competition the LSU men are in second place with 34 points. Arkansas leads the men’s competition with 57 points. The LSU women have scored 36 points so far and are in fourth place; Georgia leads the women’s side with 49 points.
Up Next
The third and final day of the SEC Championships will take place on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The men’s session will start at 12:30 p.m. CT and the women’s session will commence at 4:30 p.m. CT.
Saturday Streaming Links
Men’s Session (12:25 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. CT)
Women’s Session (5:55 p.m. – 8 p.m. CT)
Saturday Finalists
Men’s Pole Vault (12:30 p.m.) – Brock Meyer, Kenny Odinet
Men’s Triple Jump (1:30 p.m.) – Sean Dixon-Bodie
Men’s Mile (2 p.m.) – Davis Bove
Men’s 400 Meters (2:20 p.m.) – Noah Williams
Men’s 60m Hurdles (2:30 p.m.) – Damion Thomas, Eric Edwards Jr.
Men’s 200 Meters (2:50 p.m.) – Terrance Laird, Dorian Camel
Men’s 3,000 Meters (3 p.m.) – Davis Bove, Eric Coston
Men’s 4x400m Relay (3:20 p.m.)
Women’s Shot Put (4:30 p.m.) – Amber Hart
Women’s Triple Jump (5:30 p.m.) – Kyndal McKnight, Serena Bolden, Mahalia Mitchell)
Women’s 400 Meters (6:20 p.m.) – Amber Anning
Women’s 60m Hurdles (6:30 p.m.) – Milan Young
Women’s 200 Meters (6:50 p.m.) – Favour Ofili
Women’s 4x400m Relay (7:20 p.m.)