Cassandra Tate Season 2025

Events: 200M (IN: 23.37; OUT: 23.68), 400M (IN: 53.13), 400H (55.22)

2-time NCAA Champion
6-time All-American
4-time SEC Champion
8-time All-SEC

CAREER CAPSULE
One of the elite 400-meter hurdlers to ever compete for the Lady Tigers … Crowned the NCAA Champion in the 400 hurdles during her senior season in 2012 … Became the fourth Lady Tiger to win the NCAA Outdoor title in the 400 hurdles, joining Schowonda Williams (1988), Debbie Parris-Thymes (1993, 1994) and Nickiesha Wilson (2008) … Also claimed an NCAA title in the 4×400-meter relay during the 2012 outdoor season … Set a personal record of 55.22 in the 400 hurdles during her career that ranked No. 4 on LSU’s all-time performance list at the end of her senior season … Also ran on two school-record-setting relay teams during her career … Ran the third leg on LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that won the NCAA Outdoor silver medal in 2012 with a school record of 3 minutes, 24.59 seconds for the third-fastest time in collegiate history … Led off LSU’s sprint medley relay team that won the Texas Relays title in 2012 with a school record of 3:43.79 … Crowned the SEC Outdoor champion in the 400-meter hurdles as a sophomore in 2010 … Added a trio of SEC titles in the 4×400 relay during the indoor season in 2012 and the outdoor season in 2009 and 2012 … Wrapped up her collegiate career as a two-time NCAA Champion, four-time SEC Champion, six-time All-American and eight-time All-SEC performer on the track … Graduated from LSU in May 2012 with a degree in management.

2012
Wrapped up her collegiate career as the NCAA’s premier 400-meter hurdler as the NCAA champion in the event … Raced to a personal record of 55.22 in the national final to become the fourth Lady Tiger to win the NCAA Outdoor title in the 400 hurdles, joining Schowonda Williams (1988), Debbie Parris-Thymes (1993, 1994) and Nickiesha Wilson (2008) … Also ran the third leg on LSU’s school-record-setting 4×400-meter relay team at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa … Split 50.90 seconds as she teamed with Latoya McDermott, Rebecca Alexander and Jonique Day to run the third-fastest time in collegiate history at 3:24.59 for a new LSU school record … Finished just a split second behind the 3:24.55 by the Oregon Ducks in the race for the NCAA relay title as each team eclipsed the previous NCAA Championships meet record of 3:25.26 set by LSU in 2004 … LSU advanced to the national final in the mile relay by running the eighth-fastest time in school history at 3:28.01 in the semifinal round … Earned a pair of All-SEC honors in the 400 hurdles and 4×400 relay with her performance at the SEC Outdoor Championships held at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium … Ran the third leg on LSU’s SEC Outdoor champion relay team as the Lady Tigers clocked 3:29.25 in the conference final … Crossed the finish line in 56.82 for a second-place finish in the final of the 400-meter hurdles at the SEC Outdoor meet as she earned All-SEC honors in the event for the third-straight season … Scored 10.5 points to help the Lady Tigers claim their fifth SEC Outdoor crown in six seasons … Broke 56 seconds in the 400 hurdles in five of her last six races of the 2012 season … Clocked 55.97 in the national semifinal before running 55.22 to win the NCAA crown in the event … Earned a spot in the NCAA semifinals with the second-fastest performance of 56.40 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Wrapped up the season as the No. 4-ranked performer in the history of the Lady Tiger program with her PR of 55.22 … Nearly earned an Olympic berth after taking fifth place in the final of the 400 hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials following the collegiate season … Clocked 55.36 in the final at the U.S. Olympic Trials after running 56.74 in the first round and 55.77 in the semifinal round at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. … Wrapped up her 2012 season by winning a gold medal for the United States in the 400-meter hurdles at the North American, Central American & Caribbean Under-23 Championships in Mexico … Set a NACAC U-23 Championships meet record of 55.62 to take the title … Opened the outdoor season by winning back-to-back titles in the 400 hurdles at the Battle on the Bayou (57.06) and LSU Alumni Gold (57.39) … Helped the Lady Tigers win the title of “Most Outstanding Team” at the Texas Relays after running on meet-record-setting relay teams in the 4×200 relay and sprint medley relay … Led off LSU’s winning 4×200-meter relay team at the Texas Relays as she teamed with Semoy Hackett, Rebecca Alexander and Kimberlyn Duncan to run the fourth-fastest time in collegiate history with a meet record of 1:30.01 … Also ran the 400-meter leg on LSU’s sprint medley relay team that set a Texas Relays meet record of 3:43.79 … Joined Hackett, Duncan and Charlene Lipsey in setting a new school record in the sprint medley relay with their seasonal best of 3:43.79 … Helped the Lady Tigers capture SEC Indoor and NCAA Indoor titles in the 4×400-meter relay as one of the nation’s premier performers in the event during the 2012 indoor season … Split 52.07 on the second leg of the team that won the national championship in the mile relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a run of 3:31.89 … Led off the team that claimed the SEC Indoor crown in 3:34.02, finishing just one one-hundredth of a second ahead of runner-up Florida at 3:34.03 … Ran the second leg on the foursome that won the Tyson Invitational title with a 2012 indoor seasonal-best of 3:31.55 to eclipse the NCAA qualifying standard … Was also an NCAA Championships qualifier in the 400-meter dash during the indoor season … Finished in 13th place at the NCAA Indoor meet with her run of 54.08 in the preliminary round … Scored three points with a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter final at the SEC Indoor Championships (53.16) … Opened the indoor season by setting an indoor PR of 53.13 to win the 400-meter crown at the Texas A&M Dual Meet … Honored as the SEC Women’s Runner of the Week following her run at the Texas A&M Dual Meet.

2011
Proved to be one of the nation’s top up-and-coming 400-meter hurdlers during her junior season in 2011 … Was an NCAA finalist in the event after running a personal best of 55.99 seconds in the national final … Was the third-fastest qualifier into the final of the 400-meter hurdles at the 2011 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa … Finished the 2011 season ranked No. 4 on LSU’s all-time outdoor performance list in the 400 hurdles with her top time of 55.99 … Qualified for the NCAA semifinal with her first-place finish at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Bloomington, Ind. … Posted 56.36 in the NCAA quarterfinals … Earned All-SEC honors in the 400-meter hurdles for the second-straight season by running 56.03 en route to a second-place finish at the SEC Outdoor Championships … Clocked 57.05 for the fastest time in the SEC semifinal … Won four-straight event titles in the 400 hurdles to open the 2011 outdoor season, including the LSU Tiger Relays (57.84), LSU Invitational (57.25), Hurricane Alumni Invitational (57.02) and LSU Alumni Gold (56.31) … Was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” following her performance at the LSU Alumni Gold after running what was the No. 1-ranked time in the country to that point in the season … Also competed in the 4×400-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Ran the second leg on the team that finished in ninth place in the national semifinal with a time of 3:32.88 … Also ran the second leg on relay teams that took second place at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (3:32.09) and third place at the SEC Outdoor Championships (3:35.15) … Ran the third leg on LSU’s 4×200-meter relay team that won the Texas Relays title and the 400-meter leg on the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay team that captured its fifth-straight “Championship of America” title at the Penn Relays … Took home All-America and All-SEC honors during the indoor season as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team … Split a team best 51.50 on the second leg of LSU’s mile relay team that clocked 3:30.37 to finish in third place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas … Also ran the second leg on the relay that finished second at the SEC Indoor Championships with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 3:33.21 … Competed primarily in the 400-meter dash during the indoor campaign … Established a new indoor personal best of 53.15 at the Iowa State National Qualifier to earn a spot in the 400-meter field at the NCAA Indoor Championships … Earned a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor meet with a time of 53.31 in the national semifinal … Scored three points with a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships (53.27) …Clocked 53.36 in the 400-meter semifinal at the SEC Indoor meet … Opened the 2011 indoor season by running 53.45 to take fifth place in her season debut at the Razorback Invitational … Posted a top 200-meter time of 23.80 at the Texas A&M Dual Meet.

2010
Reached All-America status for the first time in her collegiate career as a member of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team … Ran the leadoff leg on the team that finished as the national runner-up in the mile relay at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 3:33.79 … Followed outdoors by running the lead leg on the team that took third place at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:30.61 in the national final … Also earned all-conference honors as a part of the mile relay as the Lady Tigers finished runner-up at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a time of 3:32.84 … Emerged as one of the nation’s leading 400-meter hurdlers during the 2010 outdoor season … Competed in the 400 hurdles for the first time in her collegiate career during her sophomore season … Crowned SEC champion of the event in only her fourth career race, running a time of 57.12 in the conference final … Set a seasonal best of 56.87 to finish in seventh place at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds and earn a spot in the national semifinal at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Finished in 11th place at the national meet after setting a time of 58.12 in the semifinal round in Eugene, Ore. … Opened with a time of 1:00.12 in her first ever 400-meter hurdle race at the Miami Elite Invitational … Competed primarily in the 200-meter dash during the indoor season … Earned a 12th-place finish in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 23.61 in the qualifying round … Set a new lifetime personal best in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.37 in a third-place finish in the conference final at the SEC Indoor Championships … Just missed taking All-SEC honors in the event … Also reached the NCAA provisional qualifying standard with times of 23.64 in the SEC prelims and 23.82 at the Tyson Invitational … Honored for her outstanding performance in the classroom with a selection to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

2009
Showed tremendous potential as one of the Lady Tigers’ top newcomers in 2009 … Competed primarily in the 200-meter dash throughout her freshman season … Competed in the event at the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional Championships where she earned a 10th-place finish … Scored one point for the Lady Tigers with an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships, running an indoor seasonal best of 24.04 at the conference meet … Followed by finishing 10th in the event at the SEC Outdoor meet in a time of 23.97 … Set a new overall personal best in the event with a time of 23.68 to take sixth at the Sun Angel Classic during the outdoor season … Won the 200-meter title at the Louisiana Classics (23.96) in the outdoor season opener … Also ran the 100-meter dash in one meet during the outdoor season, finishing in third place at the Louisiana Classics with a time of 11.83 … Also competed in the 60 meters and 60 hurdles during the indoor season … Posted a best of 7.61 in the 60 meters and 8.61 in the 60 hurdles … Ran a leg on LSU’s 4×400-meter relay throughout her freshman season … Ran the leadoff leg on the relay team that won an SEC title at the SEC Outdoor Championships with a time of 3 minutes, 34.11 seconds … Also ran the lead leg on the relay team that won the title at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in 3:31.53 … Also led off the relay team that finished fourth at the SEC Indoor Championships with a time of 3:37.50 to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Indoor meet.

PRIOR TO LSU
Dominated the sprints and hurdles at the Class 2A and 3A levels during her brilliant four-year career at Loranger High School in Hammond … Developed into the state’s top prospect in the sprint hurdles after winning eight individual state titles since 2005 … Won state championships in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 100 hurdles at the state meet in 2007 as she was named the meet Most Outstanding Performer for Class 3A … Followed that performance by defending her state titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters in 2008 … Set new personal bests in the 100 meters (11.79), 200 meters (24.21) and 100 hurdles (14.11) as a senior in 2008 … No stranger to national competition as she lined up against the nation’s best at the 2007 AAU Junior Olympics where she finished 15th in the 100 hurdles and 20th in the 200 meters … Was also among the field that competed at the AAU Junior Olympics in 2005 and 2006.

PERSONAL
Full name is Cassandra Lena Tate … Born on Sept. 11, 1990 … Parents are Titus and Phyllis Cochran … Has an older sister, Lataisha, and an older brother, Adrian … Was a four-year member of the Beta Club at Loranger High School … Graduated from LSU in May 2012 with a degree in management.