Harrison, Williams, and Laird Remain on The Bowerman Watch List

Baton Rouge, La. – For the third straight release, LSU’s JuVaughn Harrison, Noah Williams, and Terrance Laird are all still on The Bowerman Watch List – post conference edition – that was released on Thursday afternoon (May 20).

All three guys won SEC titles last weekend at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Laird won three, Williams won two, and Harrison won one. Laird picked up his three titles in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meter relay; Williams won his in the 400 meters and 4×100 meter relay, and Harrison captured gold in the high jump.

This is watch list appearance No. 9 for Harrison who continues to impress with his ever rare jumping skills in the long jump and high jump. At the SEC meet it was his immaculate performance that raised eyebrows around the world. He entered at a height of 7′ 1.50″ (2.17 meters) and proceeded to clear seven straight bars en route to victory that culminated with a winning clearance of 7′ 8.75″ (2.36 meters). The winning mark of 7′ 8.75″ ranks No. 2 in the world this year, leads the NCAA, and is the second best clearance in collegiate outdoor history. Harrison also picked up silver in the long jump at the SECs with a leap of 27′ 0.50″ (8.24 meters). He will enter the NCAA championship ranked as the No. 1 long jumper and high jumper in the nation.

Williams won his first SEC outdoor individual in the 400 meters with a readout of 44.37, and he ran the second leg of the LSU 4×100 meter relay team that won with a readout of 38.87. His season best time of 44.30 in the 400 meters that he ran at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in April still ranks as the fastest time in the world this season.

Laird earned High Point Scorer of the Meet honors at the SEC meet with a grand total of 22.5 points after his three victories. His best performance of the weekend came in the 200 meters when he clocked a winning time of 19.82 on his way to breaking the SEC meet record held by Justin Gatlin. He also ran a quick wind-aided time of 9.80 seconds in the 100 meters for gold, and he anchored the LSU 4×100 meter relay team to gold as well. Laird’s season best of 19.81 in the 200 meters is still a world lead for 2021.

This makes watch list appearance No. 9 for Harrison, No. 4 for Williams, and No. 3 for Laird. These three honorees plus Tonea Marshall on the women’s side makes LSU the only school in the nation with four members currently on The Bowerman Watch List. Each year The Bowerman is awarded to the top female and male collegiate track and field athlete each December.

A full list of athletes on The Bowerman Watch List can be viewed at ustfccca.org.