Norwood advances to 400-meter final

LSU track and field standout Vernon Norwood advanced to the 400-meter final, while the Tigers’ 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay also advanced to Friday’s finale during semifinal action at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Norwood, the NCAA Indoor champion in the 400-meter run, ran the fastest qualifying time Wednesday in 45.42 seconds.
Norwood, a senior, was pushed in heat three to the finish line by Oregon’s hometown favorite, sophomore Marcus Chambers (45.43), to move into Friday’s final as the top seed. He also beat the time of 45.43 run by defending NCAA Outdoor Champion Deon Lendore in the semifinal round. Lendore won the second heat.
Also running in the 400-meter final Friday will be Florida’s Najee Glass (45.49), North Carolina’s Ceo Ways (45.49), Texas’ Zack Bilderback (45.53), Illinois’ DJ Zahn (45.87) and Alabama’s Steven Gayle (45.93).
“I came off the bend in a pretty good position and just tried to finish strong,” Norwood said in a news release of his race to the finish line with Chambers. “He (Chambers) had the crowd here cheering him on, and he finished strong, but I just couldn’t lose focus. I knew I had to finish strong with a fast time so I could get a good lane for the final in a couple of days.”
The finals in the event will be held at 7:35 p.m.
Earlier, Norwood and the Tigers advanced in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 38.92 seconds.
Norwood ran the second leg of the relay. The other legs were Joshua Thompson, Tremayne Acy and Aaron Ernest.
LSU is in the 4x100-meter relay final for the 16th straight season.
Eight times an NCAA Champion in the 4x100-meter relay in program history, the Tigers will run for a ninth Friday after taking second place in the second semifinal heat with the fourth-fastest time of the day at 38.92 seconds. LSU finished just a split-second behind Florida’s 38.91 to win the heat. TCU (38.65) and Texas A&M (39.11) were the other heat winners in the sprint relay semifinals.
Also advancing to the men’s sprint relay finals were Arkansas (38.78), Southern California (39.09), Alabama (39.23) and Illinois (39.39). The Tigers, who’ve set a seasonal best of their own at 38.78 already this season, will try to win their first NCAA 4x100-meter relay title since the 2012 season in Friday’s final scheduled to run at 6:35 p.m.
With senior Quincy Downing joining junior Fitzroy Dunkley on the second leg, junior Cyril Grayson on the third leg and Norwood on the anchor leg, the Tigers finished one second ahead of Ohio State (3:05.73) in the 4x400-meter relay in the third heat with the second-fastest time among the three heat winners. Florida clocked 3:04.11 as the fastest qualifier of the semifinal round, while Texas A&M won the second heat in 3:05.21.
Also advancing to Friday’s final in the men’s 4x400-meter relay were BYU (3:04.94), Mississippi State (3:05.15), Arkansas (3:05.37) and Illinois (3:05.63).
“It comes down to working hard all year to get ready for this week. We got through today healthy, so that was great for us,” Norwood said of he and his teammates running as many races as they did Wednesday in the semifinal rounds. “To go from event to event like that with such little time in between with this new schedule, it shows how well we prepared for this meet. We got through, and that’s what mattered most.”
The 4x400-meter relay final will be held at 8:50 p.m. Friday.
Norwood was one of five individual males to advance to the finals, while he also is a member of the team’s two relays that will be running in the finals.
ESPN will televise action Friday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and continuing until 8 p.m.