Morgan City grad wins national track title

When it came to the 400 meter dash, Vernon Norwood had never won a state title in high school or a junior college or NCAA title in the event in his career coming into his final NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend.
That all changed Saturday as Norwood captured the men’s 400-meter run at the event NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Norwood, an LSU track and field standout and 2011 Morgan City High School graduate, captured the event in his final indoor race as an LSU Tiger, sprinting to an indoor personal best of 45.31 seconds in Saturday’s final.
Not only did he win the race but Norwood is now ranked No. 2 in the world according to the International Association of Athletics Federations.
He also is now the 10th-fastest 400-meter runner indoors in collegiate history and is the third LSU Tiger in program history to win an NCAA indoor title in the event.
In the first section of a two-section 400-meter final, Norwood finished in 45.31 ahead of Florida’s Glass (45.77) and LSU’s Quincy Downing (46.13).
In the second heat, Texas A&M’s duo of defending NCAA Indoor Champion Deon Lendore and Bralon Taplin, two of the quickest quarter-milers worldwide, finished in 45.81 and 45.55, respectively.
“I just felt that I executed better than I did last year being in that same position,” Norwood said in an LSU news release. “It just shows that the work and the execution I did and the preparation I had helped me to come out here on top. Being in the same position a year ago was really nerve-racking for me. I was really upset that I didn’t put it out there in the first heat.”
Norwood just missed Xavier Carter’s nine-year-old indoor school record of 45.28 set the same year he also was crowned the NCAA Indoor Champion in the event.
“It’s a confidence booster for me,” Norwood said in the release. “I ended the indoor season on a good note and am going outdoors on a good note. We’re just going to keep working hard throughout the rest of this season.”
Norwood’s high school coach, Gary Johnson, who was a decorated triple jumper on the collegiate level at the University of Arkansas where he recorded an indoor runner-up finish years ago, said this morning he was proud of Norwood.
“I have been there and I couldn’t be more proud,” he said. “I talked with his mom, and she just called me crying. I said it’s paid off. All the sacrifice. It’s an amazing feeling. I want to know how he felt because I want to know if he felt like I did because it’s an amazing feeling and I don’t think it’s hit him yet. Because it doesn’t hit you yet. You’re just in the moment at that time, but I think maybe today or tomorrow it will really sink in to him that he’s actually not only national champion, but he’s No. 2 in the world.”
Norwood’s victory sparked the Tigers to their ninth top-10 team finish in 10 seasons at the NCAA Indoor Championships since 2006.
LSU tied for seventh place in the final men’s team standings. The Oregon Ducks defended their NCAA Indoor team championship on the men’s side in emphatic fashion by scoring 74 points in two days of competition.
Below is the link to Norwood's 400-meter run, courtesy of LSUsports.net. http://t.co/ODcLsTp2LP