Vernon Norwood Season 2014
Events: 200M (IN: 20.92; OUT: 20.82), 400M (IN: 45.31; OUT: 44.44)
4-time NCAA Champion
8-time All-American
9-time All-SEC
CAREER CAPSULE
One of the great 400-meter runners to ever wear the LSU uniform … Swept NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the 400-meter dash during his senior season in 2015 … Became the 14th sprinter in collegiate history to sweep NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the 400-meter dash (or 440-yard dash) in the same season … Joined the great Xavier Carter as the only two LSU Tigers to sweep national championships in the event in the same season … Anchored the Tigers to a pair of NCAA titles in the 4×400-meter relay during his career with wins indoors in 2014 and outdoors in 2015 … Ended his career as the No. 2-ranked 400-meter runner in school history during both seasons with an indoor PR of 45.31 and outdoor PR of 44.44 … Outdoor PR of 44.44 made him the No. 8-ranked performer outdoors in NCAA history on the all-time collegiate Top 10 list … Ran on six 4×400-meter relay teams to crack LSU’s all-time Top 10 performance list between the indoor and outdoor seasons … Ended his college career as a four-time NCAA Champion, eight-time All-American and nine-time All-SEC sprinter in just two seasons at LSU in 2014 and 2015.
2015
The premier 400-meter sprinter in the NCAA in his final season with the Tigers in 2015 … Crowned the NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor Champion in the 400-meter dash to highlight a historic senior season at LSU … Became the 14th sprinter in collegiate history to sweep NCAA Indoor and NCAA Outdoor titles in the 400-meter dash (or 440-yard dash) in the same season … Captured the NCAA Indoor 400-meter title by running an indoor personal best of 45.31 seconds in the final at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships held at Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Track Center … Became the No. 2-ranked 400-meter runner indoors in school history with his title-winning run of 45.31, trailing only the indoor school record of 45.28 set by Xavier Carter in 2006 … Was the third LSU Tiger crowned NCAA Indoor Champion in the 400 meters in program history, joining Alleyne Francique in 2002 and Carter in 2006 … Advanced to the national final indoors with a time of 46.00 to rank third in qualifying … Completed his title sweep by clocking a winning 45.10 to claim the NCAA Outdoor title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships held at Oregon’s Hayward Field … Only the second Tiger to win the NCAA Outdoor title in the 400 meters, following in the footsteps of Carter in 2006 … Was the fastest qualifier for the final in the national semifinal outdoors with a run of 45.42 to win his heat … Won a third NCAA title during the 2015 season as he capped his collegiate career by anchoring the Tigers to victory in the 4×400-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Split 44.97 on the anchor leg as he teamed with Quincy Downing, Fitzroy Dunkley and Cyril Grayson to win the team’s first national championship in the 4×400-meter relay since 2006 with a time of 3:01.96 in the NCAA final … NCAA-title-winning run of 3:01.96 was the ninth-fastest outdoors in school history … Added a third All-America honor at the NCAA Outdoor Championships by running the second leg of LSU’s 4×100-meter relay team that raced to a bronze-medal-winning third-place finish in the national final … Helped the team clock a seasonal-best time of 38.62 in the NCAA final for the sixth-fastest time in school history … Led the Tigers into the national finals of both relays with times of 38.92 for fourth place in the 4×100 relay and 3:04.73 for second place in the 4×400 relay in the NCAA semifinals … Was the top qualifier into the national semifinals of the 400-meter dash with his run of 44.94 at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds held at North Florida’s Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville … Ran on LSU’s relay teams that clocked 39.25 for second place in the 4×100 relay and 3:02.48 for first place in the 4×400 relay in the quarterfinal round at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Three times an SEC Outdoor Silver Medalist in the 400 meters (44.76), 4×100-meter relay (38.78) and 4×400-meter relay (3:01.63) at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Mississippi State’s Mike Sanders Track Complex … Seasonal-best time of 3:01.63 in the 4×400-meter relay was the seventh-fastest outdoors in school history … Emerged as one of the fastest 400-meter sprinters in collegiate history in his outdoor season debut when he clocked a personal best of 44.44 in victory at the LSU Alumni Gold … Became the No. 8-ranked 400-meter runner outdoors in NCAA history with his PR of 44.44 … Vaulted into the No. 2 spot on LSU’s all-time outdoor performance list in the event, trailing only the SEC and school record of 44.29 set by Derrick Brew in 1999 … Ran on LSU’s winning 4×100-meter relay teams at the Louisiana Classics (39.47), Battle on the Bayou (39.32), Jim Click Shootout (38.95), LSU Alumni Gold (39.11) and LSU Invitational (39.11) … Also ran on LSU’s winning 4×400-meter relay teams at the LSU Alumni Gold (3:02.79) and Penn Relays (3:02.61) during the outdoor season … Split 44.85 on the third leg of LSU’s winning team in the Championship of America final in the 4×400 relay … Crowned the SEC Indoor Bronze Medalist in both the 400 meters (45.68) and 4×400 relay (3:05.05) at the SEC Indoor Championships held at Kentucky’s Nutter Field House … Qualified for the SEC Indoor final in the 400 meters with a time of 45.77 for the second-fastest time in the preliminary round … Finished runner-up in the 400 meters at the Razorback Invitational with a season-opening time of 45.56 … Won the 200-meter title at the Tyson Invitational with an indoor personal best of 20.92 … Became the No. 8-ranked 200-meter sprinter indoors in school history with his indoor best of 20.92 … Won the 600 yards at the Rod McCravy Memorial with a time of 1:08.84 … Anchored the Tigers to their seasonal-best time indoors of 3:04.28 in a runner-up finish at the Rod McCravy Memorial for the third-fastest time in school history … Also raced on winning 4×400-meter relay teams at the LSU Indoor Invitational (3:10.67) and Auburn Indoor Invitational (3:07.65) … Followed the collegiate season by earning his spot on Team USA for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China … Bagged the bronze medal in the 400-meter final at the USA Track & Field Championships with a time of 44.80 to earn his spot on Team USA while making his World Championships debut … Finished third behind David Verburg (44.63) and LaShawn Merritt (44.66) at the USATF Championships.
2014
One of the elite sprinters to join the NCAA Division I ranks for the first time during the 2014 season … Anchored the Tigers to a national championship in the 4×400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico … Split a team-best 45.16 on the anchor leg as he teamed with Darrell Bush, Quincy Downing and Cyril Grayson for a time of 3:04.54 to win LSU’s first NCAA Indoor crown in the 4×400 relay since the 2006 season … LSU’s winning time of 3:04.54 in the NCAA final was the fourth-fastest relay time indoors in school history … Anchored the Tigers to the NCAA Outdoor bronze medal in the 4×400-meter relay with a blistering 44.52-second split … Joined Downing, Bush and Grayson once again in running an outdoor seasonal-best time of 3:01.60 for an All-American third-place finish in the national final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships held in Eugene, Oregon … Seasonal-best time of 3:01.60 in the national final was the sixth-fastest relay time outdoors in school history … Earned All-America honors as the NCAA Indoor Silver Medalist and NCAA Outdoor Bronze Medalist in the 400-meter dash as one of the nation’s premier quartermilers … Clocked 45.57 for a silver-medal-winning runner-up finish in the national final after qualifying with a time of 46.29 in the preliminary round at the NCAA Indoor Championships … Bagged the NCAA Outdoor bronze medal in the 400-meter dash with a run of 45.45 in the national final following a qualifying run of 45.52 in the semifinal round at the NCAA Outdoor Championships … Matched his lifetime personal best with a time of 45.17 for a runner-up finish in the national quarterfinals at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds held in Jacksonville, Florida, to advance to the NCAA semifinals at Oregon’s Hayward Field … Clocked 45.88 for the fifth-fastest time of the first round of 400-meter qualifying at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds … Split an impressive 44.70 on the anchor leg of LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that advanced to the national semifinals with the fastest time of the quarterfinal round at 3:02.64 at the NCAA East Prelims … First ran his lifetime personal best of 45.17 in a silver-medal-winning runner-up finish in the 400-meter final at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Lexington, Kentucky … Ended the 2014 season as the No. 6-ranked 400-meter runner outdoors in the history of the LSU program … Advanced to the SEC Outdoor final after running 45.99 for the second-fastest time of the qualifying round … Also earned All-SEC honors in the 400 meters during the indoor season as the SEC Indoor Bronze Medalist in the event, clocking an indoor personal best of 45.39 for a third-place finish in the conference final … Ended the 2014 indoor season as the No. 4-ranked 400-meter runner on LSU’s all-time indoor performance list in the event … Crossed the finish line in 45.54 in the preliminary round at the SEC Indoor Championships to earn a spot in the SEC Indoor final … Anchored the Tigers to a pair of bronze-medal-winning third-place finishes in the SEC final of the 4×400-meter relay during both the indoor and outdoor seasons … Split 45.00 on the anchor leg of the team that clocked an indoor seasonal best of 3:04.04 in a third-place finish at the SEC Indoor Championships … Seasonal best of 3:04.04 was the second-fastest relay time indoors in school history … Also anchored the squad to the SEC Outdoor bronze medal in the mile relay with a time of 3:04.33 … Anchored LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team to victories at the Auburn Indoor Invitational (3:09.17), New Mexico Team Invitational (3:08.29) and Tyson Invitational (3:04.60) during the indoor season … Won the 400-meter title at the Tyson Invitational during the indoor season with a time of 45.81 … Clocked 46.31 in his first 400-meter race of the 2014 indoor season in a runner-up finish at the Aggie Invitational … Also finished runner-up in his first 400-meter race of the outdoor season with a season-opening time of 45.64 at the the LSU Alumni Gold … Raced to a wind-legal personal best of 20.82 (+1.2) in a fifth-place finish in the 200 meters at Miami’s Hurricane Alumni Invitational … Clocked 20.92 (-0.8) in a runner-up finish in the 200 meters at the Battle on the Bayou … Ran on LSU’s 4×400-meter relay team that earned second-place finishes at the Texas Relays (3:02.81), Battle on the Bayou (3:09.77), Hurricane Alumni Invitational (3:09.74), and the LSU Alumni Gold (45.41) during the outdoor season … Anchored the Tigers to a time of 1:22.87 for a third place in the 4×200 relay at the Texas Relays during the outdoor season … Followed the collegiate season by earning a fourth-place finish in the men’s 400-meter final at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Sacramento, California … Dropped his personal best to 45.02 in the USA Outdoor final en route to a fourth-place finish … Clocked 45.39 in the first round and 45.21 in the semifinal en route to a berth in his first career USA final in the 400 meters … Earned a spot on Team USA’s squad for the 2014 North American, Central American & Caribbean (NACAC) Championships with his performance at the USA Outdoor Championships.
PRIOR TO LSU
One of the elite sprint talents in the junior college ranks to sign a National Letter of Intent as part of the Class of 2013 … Signed with the Tigers with impressive personal records of 20.93 in the 200-meter dash and 45.72 in the 400-meter dash set during his freshman season at South Plains College in 2012 … Lowered his outdoor PR to 45.56 in winning the 400-meter title at the UTEP Invitational to open his sophomore season outdoors in 2013 … Also set an indoor 400-meter PR of 46.02 in winning the men’s invitational event at the 2013 Tyson Invitational during his sophomore season … The junior college national leader at 400 meters during the 2013 indoor season … Earned All-America honors as the back-to-back silver medalist in the 400-meter dash in 2012 (46.42) and 2013 (45.75) at the National Junior College Athletics Association Outdoor Track & Field Championships … Ran on back-to-back national championship 4×400-meter relay teams for South Plains College while leading the team to winning times of 3:05.99 in 2012 and 3:05.93 in 2013 in the national final at the NJCAA Outdoor Championships … Anchored South Plains to the NJCAA national record with a winning time of 3:01.32 at the 2012 Red Raider Invitational at Texas Tech, breaking the 18-year-old record of 3:01.89 set by Blinn College in 1994 … Also ran a wind-legal PR of 20.93 (+1.1) for second place in the 200 meters while running in the “C” race at the Red Raider Invitational during his freshman season … Earned a reputation as one of the nation’s emerging 400-meter talents during the outdoor season in 2012 after running a seasonal best of 45.72 for the victory at the UTEP Springtime Invitational in El Paso, Texas … Also broke 46 seconds while running 45.98 for fourth place in the 400-meter final at the Michael Johnson Invitational held at Baylor University during the 2012 outdoor season … Followed his freshman season in 2012 by winning a pair of NJCAA Indoor championships in the 600 meters (1:17.04) and 4×400 relay (3:06.68) at the 2013 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at Texas Tech’s Athletic Training Center … Set NJCAA Indoor Championships meet records with his performance … Won a pair of 600-yard run titles during the 2013 indoor season at Texas Tech’s Red Raider Invitational with winning times of 1:10.58 in 2012 and 1:09.86 in 2013 … Was the South Plains College school-record holder in the 600-yard run after winning the event in 1:08.80 at the 2013 Texas Tech Red Raider Open … Helped lead South Plains to a runner-up finish in the 4×400-meter relay final at the 2012 Tyson Invitational while splitting 46.45 on the third leg of the foursome that ran the second-fastest indoor time in NJCAA history at 3:05.16 … Attended South Plains College following his high school career at Morgan City High School in Morgan City, Louisiana … Was a four-year varsity letterman on the basketball court while also running track at Morgan City High School … Was his basketball team’s Defensive Most Valuable Player as a sophomore before being named their team captain during his senior season.
PERSONAL
Full name is Vernon Larnard Norwood … Born on April 10, 1992 … Parents are Curtis Norwood and Charliette Ray … Majoring in interdisciplinary studies.