Track and Field Racks Up Five South Central Regional Awards

Baton Rouge, La.  –  It was another big award haul for the LSU track and field team as four representatives from the program earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association outdoor regional awards. Athletes that won awards in the South Central Region were Terrance Laird (Track Athlete of the Year) and JuVaughn Harrison (Field Athlete of the Year). Coaching wise, head coach Dennis Shaver swept both women’s and men’s Coach of the Year honors, and Todd Lane was named the Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

Laird and Harrison were both named the SEC Outdoor Athletes of the Year in their respective categories on Wednesday and lead the charge for LSU’s national title hopes. Laird becomes the fifth LSU track athlete to win this award, and Harrison becomes the third LSU winner of the field athlete award in the South Central region. For Shaver, it marks the seventh and eighth regional coach of the year awards for him during his tenure as LSU head coach including his fourth in the last three seasons. Lane wins the award for the second straight outdoor season as he was also the award recipient during the 2019 outdoor season; the 2020 outdoor season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Harrison, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, equaled the second-best performer in collegiate history in the high jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships with his clearance of 2.36m (7-8¾). It was part of a field series where Harrison went 7-for-7 on his attempts. Earlier in the season, Harrison soared a wind-legal 8.44m (27-8¼) in the long jump to become the sixth-best performer in collegiate history.

Laird, who hails from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, clocked the third-fastest performance in collegiate history in the 200 with his 19.81 effort at the Texas Relays in late March. He also added a wind-legal 19.82 at the SEC Outdoor Championships to equal the fourth-fastest all-time performance. It was at the SEC Outdoor Championships where Laird scored 22.5 points thanks to completing the 100-200 double and anchoring the winning 4×100 relay.

Shaver, in his 17th year at LSU, led the Tigers to the No. 1 ranking in the National TFRI each and every week this season and a strong effort at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the women’s side. He coached Tonea Marshall to become the fourth-fastest performer in NCAA history in the 100H at 12.44. He also guided the 4×100 relay to an NCAA- and world-leading time. LSU has 19 entries for the NCAA Championships.

Shaver, in his 17th year at LSU, has guided the Tigers on the men’s side to the No. 1 billing in the National TFRI for nine of the 10 possible weeks. He oversaw JuVaughn Harrison and Terriance Laird to all-time marks in collegiate history: Harrison is No. 2 in the high jump (2.36m) and No. 6 in the long jump (8.44), while Laird is the No. 3 performer in the 200 (19.81). On the Descending Order List, LSU holds 18 top-20 national event rankings, including the top-ranked marks in the 100, 200, 400, high jump and long jump. The Tigers have 15 entries for the NCAA Championships.

Lane, in his 14th year at LSU, coached three Tiger jumpers to four berths at the final site of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Leading the way was JuVaughn Harrison, who equaled the No. 2 performer in collegiate history in the high jump at 2.36m (7-8¾) and added a No. 6 entry on the all-time long jump list at 8.44m (27-8¼). His jump squad also included the season’s fifth-best long jumper in Rayvon Grey and second-best freshman triple jumper in Sean Dixon-Bodie.