Todd Lane Season 2025
The LSU jumps program boasts one of the proudest traditions in the history of collegiate track and field in the United States, and assistant coach Todd Lane has continued that tradition as he enters his 18th season as a member of LSU’s coaching staff during the 2024-25 season.
LSU has flourished in 17 seasons under Lane’s direction as he has coached 20 NCAA scorers to 61 All-America honors in four different jumping events since joining the LSU coaching staff prior to the 2008 season. His student-athletes have also captured 17 SEC championships and 66 All-SEC honors over the last 17 seasons.
The 2024 season saw the emergence of a couple of newcomers under Lane’s guidance as well as another great season from the versatile Morgan Smalls. The women’s jumps squad coached by Lane contributed 17 total points to the team winning the 2024 SEC Outdoor Championship title.
Senior Morgan Smalls was the only student-athlete in the nation to qualify in three-individual events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (LJ, TJ, HJ). Smalls earned three All-American honors, with her highest finish coming in high jump during outdoors. She closed out her season at the US Olympic Team Trials, taking eighth in the long jump final with a distance of 6.43 meters (21’ 1.25”). The veteran jumper contributed the fourth-most points for the team’s SEC Championship title outdoors with 13 total in long jump, triple jump and high jump. She earned bronze and Second Team All-SEC honors on her final leap of triple jump with a distance of 13.08 meters (42’ 11”) at the SEC Championships.
Popping onto the scene fast during the indoor season was the true freshman Taylor Fingers. Fingers was crowned SEC Co-Freshman Indoor Field Athlete of the Year after taking silver at the SEC Indoor Championships in triple jump. Outdoors, Fingers scored four points with her fifth-place finish in triple jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships helping the team claim the 2024 Women’s SEC Outdoor title.
In his first season after transferring to LSU, Kuda Chadenga has already left his mark in the Tiger record books. At the SEC Outdoor Championships Chadenga claimed silver and All-SEC honors with a clearance of 2.19 meters (7’ 2.25”) in high jump. The Zimbabwean also cleared the No. 5 height in LSU performance-list history at the LSU Alumni Gold meet with 2.22 meters (7’ 3.25”) earlier in the season.
During the 2023 season, Lane oversaw a very young and talented group of Tigers that included two outstanding upperclassmen jumpers in Morgan Smalls and Brandon Hicklin.
Smalls made big improvements in her high jump abilities throughout the 2023 campaign, reaching a new personal-best height of 1.86 meters (6’ 1.25”) at the LSU Lloyd Wills Invitational. Her new PR puts her at third on the LSU all-time performance list, just .03 meters (1”) away from first. For both high jump and long jump, Smalls made an appearance at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in 2023. Smalls ended her outdoor campaign at fourth in the nation in high jump and earned one SEC Field Athlete of the Week honor (04/11). Smalls was named the LSWA Women’s T&F Co-Field of the Year on July 21.
Lane coached Hicklin to the 10th best mark in LSU-indoor history with a distance of 7.97 meters (26’ 1.75”) in long jump. The mark of 7.97m ranked seventh in the nation and was an indoor personal best for the Spartanburg, S.C., native. Outdoors, Hicklin was crowned First Team All-American after taking eighth with a distance of 7.86 meters (25’ 9.5”) at the NCAA Championships. Hicklin capped off his first and only season in Baton Rouge with a 10th-place finish in long jump at the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships in July with a mark of 7.75 meters (25’ 5.25”). Hicklin was named the LSWA Men’s T&F Newcomer of the Year on July 21.
The 2022 season saw numerous members of the jump squad post big time performances during indoors and outdoors. Lane led LSU members to a total of eight First Team All-American nods in all four jumping events. During conference competition, the jump squad collected eight All-SEC nods and two individual SEC titles.
Lisa Gunnarsson solidified herself as the best women’s pole vaulter in program history during the 2022 season. Outdoors, Gunnarsson was able to set the LSU pole vault record of 4.65 meters (15’ 3”) at the Texas Relays on her way to finishing the season as a First Team All-American in the event. The Swede racked up many accolades during the year including: SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year, TAF Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee, The Bowerman Watch List member, LSWA Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, and more. She also added two All-SEC nods for finishing second indoors and outdoors, and was First Team All-American indoors for pole vault.
Gunnarsson returned home for the Swedish National Championships in August of 2022, and was crowned the Swedish National Champion in pole vault after reaching a winning height of 4.24 meters (13’ 11”).
In triple jump, Sean Dixon-Bodie reached the number four distance in LSU outdoor performance list history with 16.64 meters (54’ 7.25”) at the SEC Indoor Championships, leading him to an SEC title. Dixon-Bodie also struck gold during the outdoor season, winning the SEC title with a distance of 16.36 meters (53’ 8.25”).
Freshman Apalos Edwards also found his stride alongside Dixon-Bodie in triple jump. The 2022 LSWA Men’s Freshman of the Year got out to a personal-best distance of 16.21 meters (53’ 2.25”) at the NCAA Indoor Championships to take fifth and earn his first, First Team All-American nod. The Jamaican continued to find his stride in triple jump during outdoors, finishing second to Dixon-Bodie in tripe jump at the SEC Championships. Edwards went on to be named First Team All-American once again at the NCAA Championships after taking bronze with a distance of 16.39 meters (53’ 9.25”).
A two-time First Team All-American in 2022, Nyagoa Bayak continued to be one of the top high jumpers in the nation after finishing top-10 in all 13 meets. Indoors, Bayak finished fourth at the NCAA Championships with a personal-best height of 1.86 meters (6’ 1.25”) which ties for third in LSU indoor performance list history. During the outdoor season, Bayak reached he same height of 1.86 meters which put her at third on the all-time outdoor performance list for LSU. The height set her up for a bronze finish at the SEC Championships, giving her All-SEC honors. The Maine native ended the season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a sixth-place finish.
Transferring in for her first season with the Tigers, Morgan Smalls made a big impact right away as she racked up the 2022 LSWA Women’s Newcomer of the Year award. During the outdoor season Smalls finished with First Team All-American honors in long jump after finish sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She finished second at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a personal-best distance of 6.58 meters (21’ 7.25”), which ranks sixth on the all-time LSU outdoor performance list. Her second-place finish earned her All-SEC honors.
The best women’s high jumper in LSU history, Abigail O’Donoghue, finished her collegiate career with another First Team All-American nod during the 2022 indoor season. On the way to finishing fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championship, O’Donoghue took bronze at the SEC Indoor Championships with a height of 1.88 meters (6’ 2”).
Lane earned 2021 USTFCCCA National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year honors during the outdoor campaign as he had three athletes advance to a total of four events at the NCAA outdoor meet and they scored a total of 27 points.
Lane coached world-class jumper JuVaughn Harrison to one of the best seasons in collegiate history as Harrison swept national titles in the long jump and high jump at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Harrison competed nine times during the outdoor season and won eight times. Harrison’s six national titles won at LSU ranks as the third most in program history.
Harrison had season best marks of 7’ 8.75” (2.36 meters) in the high jump and 27’ 8.25” (8.44 meters) during the collegiate season, and both of those marks ranked inside the top six of collegiate history. His clearance of 7’ 8.75” at the SEC Outdoor Championships earned him the No. 2 spot in collegiate history for the outdoor high jump.
Indoors, Harrison was just as successful as he completed the most historic high jump/long jump combo in world history within a span of three hours at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Harrison won titles in the high jump (7’ 6.50”/2.30m) and the long jump (27’ 8.75”/8.45m) to make history; those marks made him the first human ever to have marks of 7’ 6.50” and 27’ 8.75” or better in those events, and he did it in one day.
Harrison earned SEC Field Athlete of the Year honors indoors and outdoors, and he was named the USTFCCCA National Field Athlete of the Year in both seasons as well. He is one of three finalists for The Bowerman which will be presented on December 17, 2021 in Orlando, Fla., at USTFCCCA’s annual convention.
Harrison continued his winning ways following the collegiate season as he won U.S. national titles in both the high jump and long jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. Those two wins earned him a bid to the Tokyo Olympics where he represented the United States and placed fifth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump. He became the first man to represent the United States in those two events at the Olympics since Jim Thorpe did so in 1912.
Sean Dixon-Bodie, a true freshman, registered a personal best mark of 54′ 6″ (16.61 meters) to place fourth in the triple jump at his first career NCAA outdoor meet, and senior Rayvon Grey tacked on two points in the long jump with a leap of 25′ 6.25″ (7.78 meters). Dixon-Bodie was named the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year indoors as he placed fifth at the NCAA indoor meet in the triple jump.
Lisa Gunnarsson became the first women’s pole vaulter in LSU history to win a national title in the event. She won indoors and outdoors to become the first woman since 2010 to sweep NCAA titles in the pole vault. Gunnarsson, who owns both the school records indoors and outdoors, also earned a slew of academic honors as she was named the USTFCCCA indoor and outdoor Scholar Athlete of the Year while also being named a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American.
All in all, Lane’s athletes scored a total of 86 points at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championship meets in 2021.
Lane was named the 2020 USTFCCCA South Central Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year during the indoor campaign as his jumpers scored 22 of LSU’s 88 points at the SEC meet. JuVaughn Harrison won his second consecutive SEC indoor title under the tutelage of Lane in the high jump with a clearance of 7’ 5”. Harrison was a consistent mainstay on The Bowerman for the whole 2020 indoor season appearing three times on the most prestigious watch list for collegiate track and field.
Harrison had the No. 2 long jump (26’ 7.25”) and No. 3 high jump (5’ 5.75”) in the nation entering the NCAA Championships before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fellow jumper, Rayvon Grey, had the No. 3 long jump in the nation with a season best mark of 26’ 6.50” to make him and Harrison the most elite jumping duo in the country. All three marks listed above for Harrison and Grey are LSU top-10 marks.
On the women’s side, Lane had junior Abby O’Donoghue ready to compete for a national title in the high jump. O’Donoghue set the LSU school record with a clearance of 1.89 meters (6’ 2.25”) at the Tyson Invitational and she was set to enter the NCAA Indoor Championships as the No. 2 seed; she took silver at the SEC Championships with a clearance of 6’ 2”. Lane helped pole vaulter and indoor school record holder, Lisa Gunnarsson, become the first LSU woman to win an SEC indoor title in the event since 2009. Mercy Abire claimed a bronze medal for the Tigers at the SEC Indoor Championships in the long jump and her season best leap of 21’ 1.50” (6.44 meters) ranks fourth in the LSU record books. Freshman Nyagoa Bayak also entered the LSU top-10 list in 2020 with a clearance of 5’ 11.50” in the high jump.
In 2019, Lane was named the USTFCCCA Outdoor Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year in the South Central region. His athletes scored 46 of LSU’s 105 points at the SEC Outdoor Championships en route to winning the conference title. He had a total of nine men and women athletes advance to the NCAA East Preliminaries in May. At the SEC Outdoor Championships, he coached Christian Miller to gold in the triple jump, JuVaughn Harrison to a win in the high jump, and he helped Mondo Duplantis set the collegiate record in the pole vault to claim gold with a clearance of 6.00 meters (19’ 8.25”).
At the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Lane helped JuVaughn Harrison become the first man in NCAA history to sweep long jump and high jump titles at the NCAA meet. Harrison’s 20 points combined with eight points from Mondo Duplantis in the pole vault helped LSU to a seventh place finish with 28 points.
Lane coached Duplantis and Rayvon Grey to NCAA indoor titles. His jumpers scored 28 of LSU’s 31 points at the meet that helped LSU place third at the NCAA indoor meet. Abby O’Donoghue placed sixth on the women’s side at the 2019 NCAA indoor meet to score points for LSU’s women’s squad as well. O’Donoghue, Grey and Duplantis all won SEC indoor titles as well.
In 2018, Lane coached sophomore Rayvon Grey to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Grey recorded a wind-aided jump of 26’ 1.50” in the third round to score points at the NCAA level for the first time in his career. Abby O’Donoghue earned SEC All-Freshman honors with a second-place showing at the conference meet in May. She cleared 5’ 10.75” for silver; Kaitlyn Walker added in a fourth-place finish to accumulate 12.5 points in the event between herself and O’Donoghue.
In the men’s triple jump, Da’Quan Bellard and Christian Miller both registered season bests to place four and five in their event. Bellard went 52’ 11” and Miller leaped out to a mark of 52’ 0.5”. JuVaughn Harrison was the top freshman finisher in the men’s high jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a clearance of 7’ 3.25” to earn Freshman SEC honors. Harrison went on to win USATF junior titles in both the long and high jump to earn himself a spot on Team USA for the U20 World Championships in Tampere, Finland in the summer of 2018. Once there, Harrison elevated his game a secured a U20 bronze with a clearance of 7’ 3.75”.
Nataliyah Friar proved to be one of the NCAA’s elite jumpers during her collegiate career when she claimed a pair of All-America and All-SEC honors with her performance in her four seasons in Baton Rouge.
The women had not featured a 21-foot jumper for nine seasons until Friar broke that barrier with a jump of 21 feet, 0 inches on her sixth and final attempt of the long jump final at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships to finish as the NCAA Indoor Bronze Medalist and earn All-America honors for the first time in her career. That single jump on her last attempt moved Friar from eighth place to third place in the final standings.
Not only did Friar jump an indoor PR of 21-0 in the long jump to rank No. 7 in school history, but she also set an indoor career best of 42-6 in the triple jump as a sophomore in 2015.
But it was Friar’s performance at the SEC Outdoor Championships that season that cemented her status as one of the elite jumpers at the collegiate level with a pair of All-SEC finishes for the first time in her career. That’s where she soared to a career-best wind-aided jump of 21-10 ¾ to finish as the SEC Outdoor Silver Medalist in the long jump and a wind-legal PR of 43-10 to finish as the SEC Outdoor Bronze Medalist in the triple jump with two of the top jumps in the NCAA for the 2015 season.
Friar picked up her second All-America honor as a sophomore when she placed sixth in the triple jump final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Oregon’s Hayward Field to wrap up the collegiate season. She followed by representing Team USA at the World University Games in South Korea in the summer where she jumped her wind-legal best of 21-0 ¾ in the long jump.
Friar wrapped up the 2015 outdoor season ranked No. 7 in school history in the triple jump and No. 10 in school history in the long jump on LSU’s all-time outdoor performance list.
The 2013 season proved to be one for the record books for Lane’s athletes when Damar Forbes wrapped up one of the most prolific careers for a long jumper in the history of the LSU Track & Field program as a national champion to finish off a dominant outdoor season.
After earning SEC and NCAA silver medals during the 2013 indoor season, Forbes followed outdoors by sweeping SEC Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor titles as the nation’s most prolific long jumper at the collegiate level. Forbes posted the two best wind-aided jumps of his collegiate career in sweeping long jump championships with marks of 27-4 ½w at the SEC Championships and 27-4 ¾w at the NCAA Championships that spring. He became just the third LSU Tiger all-time to sweep SEC and NCAA championships in the long jump outdoors by joining the great Billy Brown (1941) and Walter Davis (2002).
Forbes also jumped a wind-legal personal best of 27-0 ¾ to win his second-straight Jamaican long jump title and qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics for the second time for his career as the 10th-ranked long jumper worldwide for 2013. He finished in eighth place in his first international final at the World Championships held in Moscow, Russia, in the summer of 2013.
A native of Decatur, Georgia, Forbes also made his Olympics debut in the summer of 2012 while representing Jamaica at the London Games. He then made his trip to Rio de Janeiro last summer while competing in his second Olympic Games for Team Jamaica. That’s where he took flight in his first Olympic final while finishing in 12th place overall among the world’s leading performers during the 2016 season.
Forbes went out as one of the most decorated long jumpers in the program’s history as an NCAA Champion, two-time SEC Champion and six-time All-American with the Tigers. He is the No. 2-ranked long jumper in school history as his PR of 27-0 ¾ trails only the school-record mark of 27-9 ¾ by 2004 Olympic silver medalist John Moffitt.
The 2013 indoor season also saw the emergence of two of the nation’s top triple jumpers on the women’s side as Keri Emanuel and Lynnika Pitts earned All-America honors after wrapping up their indoor campaign at the NCAA Championships. Emanuel took sixth place while Pitts followed in seventh place in the triple jump final at the NCAA Indoor meet.
Pitts followed with a brilliant senior season in 2014 in which she added two more All-SEC and All-America honors as one of the nation’s elite triple jumpers once again.
The Prairieville, Louisiana, native eclipsed the 44-foot mark for the first time in her career in a bronze-medal-winning third-place finish at the 2014 SEC Indoor Championships while jumping 44-0 ¾ for the No. 7-ranked mark indoors in school history. She then ended the indoor season as the NCAA Indoor bronze medalist with a third-place finish at the national meet.
Outdoors, Pitts again took her place among the nation’s elite as an NCAA Championship qualifier in both the high jump and triple jump. She jumped a wind-legal personal best of 44-1 ¼ to earn All-America honors in the event outdoors for the first time in her career with a fourth-place finish nationally after equaling her indoor effort as the SEC Outdoor bronze medalist in the event. Pitts later jumped a career-best wind-aided 44-6 ¼ to be crowned the USA Outdoor bronze medalist at the 2014 USA Outdoor Championships with her final meet in an LSU uniform.
The 2012 season was highlighted by Trinidad & Tobago international Kyron Blaise wrapping up his collegiate career as one of the top scoring Tigers at the NCAA Championships by earning a trio of All-America honors in his final season in Baton Rouge.
After setting a wind-legal PR of 54-1 ¼ in an All-SEC runner-up finish in the triple jump at the 2012 SEC Outdoor Championships, Blaise scored the NCAA Outdoor bronze medal with a third-place finish at the national meet in his final competition in an LSU uniform. Blaise totaled a team-leading nine points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships that season as he also reached All-America status in the long jump with a sixth-place finish nationally.
Blaise proved himself as one of the NCAA’s leading dual jumpers in his final season at LSU, earning his first career All-America honor in the long jump with a sixth-place finish indoors before setting a lifetime PR of 25-11 ½ in a third-place finish at the SEC Outdoor meet.
The 2012 season also witnessed the final season in the career of the most decorated pole vaulter in the storied history of the LSU women’s program as Rachel Laurent hung up her spikes as a four-time All-American and five-time All-SEC performer.
The 2011 season saw the end of two storied careers as Brittani Carter and Zedric Thomas also finished their eligibility among the all-time greats to wear the purple and gold.
Carter is the most decorated high jumper in the history of the LSU’s program after winning two SEC titles and five All-America honors in four seasons at LSU. As a senior in 2011, Carter set a lifetime PR indoors at 6-1 ¼ and defended her SEC Indoor crown before earning All-America honors in national competition with a bronze-medal-winning third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and seventh-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Like Carter, Thomas wrapped up his collegiate career in 2011 as a five-time All-America selection in four seasons with the Tigers while shattering personal bests in both the long jump and triple jump. Thomas had top wind-legal marks of 26-6 ¼ in the long jump and 54-5 ½ in the triple jump in his final collegiate season with Lane’s coaching.
Lane joined the LSU coaching staff after spending one season at the University of Miami, where he was voted the top women’s jumps and combined events assistant in the East Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2007.
The Hurricanes enjoyed great success under Lane’s tutelage as he coached his athletes to a total of three All-America honors, eight All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, four ACC titles and one current school record. In addition, Hurricane standouts Brenda Faluade and Amy Seward swept postseason awards in 2007 while being named the ACC Indoor Field Performer of the Year and ACC Outdoor Field Performer of the Year, respectively.
Prior to joining the staff at Miami, Lane served as an assistant coach at Ball State University of the Mid-American Conference. In 2006, he helped guide BSU to a runner-up finish at the MAC Indoor Championships and a third-place showing at the MAC Outdoor Championships before being named interim head coach following the season.
Lane is not without head coaching experience as he was the head track and field coach at Georgia Southern University for five years where he oversaw the program from its inception in 1999. He was named the SoCon Outdoor Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004 after leading Georgia Southern to back-to-back runner-up finishes at the SoCon Outdoor Championships.
Off the track, Lane has been involved as an instructor for USA Track & Field and currently with USTFCCCA in coaching education programs. He also lectures nationally on training and technique.
A native of Iowa City, Iowa, the 45-year-old Lane graduated from Luther College (Iowa) in May 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. An avid Green Bay Packers fan, Lane has also received two master’s degrees from Georgia Southern University, including one in sport management in May 1997 and a second in exercise science in December 2005.
The Lane File
Coaching Experience
LSU
2007-Present – Assistant Coach
Miami
2006-07 – Assistant Coach
Ball State University
2004-06 – Assistant Coach
Georgia Southern University
1999-2004 – Head Women’s Track & Field Coach
1997-2004 – Head Cross Country Coach
1995-96 – Graduate Assistant Cross Country Coach
St. Cloud State University
1996-97 – Head Cross Country Coach; Assistant Track & Field Coach
Records and Achievements at LSU
2 Olympians
1 U.S. Indoor Champion
2 U.S. Outdoor Champion
5 NCAA Champions
9 NCAA Silver Medalists
4 NCAA Bronze Medalists
20 NCAA Scorers earning 61 All-America honors
11 SEC Champion athletes winning 18 SEC Championships
22 All-SEC athletes earning 63 All-SEC honors
Lane’s NCAA Scorers at LSU
High Jump (10)
Pole Vault (6)
Long Jump (17)
Triple Jump (13)