Norwood qualifies for NCAA Track and Field semis

LSU track and field standout Vernon Norwood has qualified for the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, next week in the 400-meter run and as a member of the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.
Norwood, a Morgan City High alum, qualified in the 400-meter dash Friday, while he and the relays advanced Saturday, all during the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds this past weekend at North Florida in Jacksonville.
On Friday, Norwood sprinted to an easy victory in the first quarterfinal heat of the men’s 400-meter dash.
After qualifying fourth with a heat-winning time of 46.03 Thursday, Norwood turned up the heat on the rest of the field Friday afternoon as the only sprinter in the quarterfinal round to break 45 seconds.
Running out of lane No. 6 in the first of three quarterfinal heats, Norwood was fast out of the blocks and took control of the race with a steady rhythm on the backstretch. After making up the stagger on the rest of the field at the 220-meter mark, he powered down the homestretch and through the finish line with a winning time of 44.94 seconds for his third sub 45-second time in five races this season.
“At this time of the year, I’m in great shape. I just wanted to run what I needed to run to get to Eugene. That’s pretty much what I was trying to do here today,” Norwood said in a news release Friday. “I knew I needed to try to win my heat to get the best lane possible in Eugene. I did that and had the fastest time, so I’m happy with that.”
Notre Dame’s Christopher Giesting finished nearly a full second behind Norwood in the first heat at 45.66. Florida’s Najee Glass followed in second place overall at 45.51.
Norwood, LSU’s reigning NCAA Indoor Champion, certainly will be a favorite to complete the NCAA title sweep in two weeks as his personal-best time this season of 44.44 is second in the NCAA for the 2015 outdoor season. Only Texas A&M’s defending NCAA Outdoor Champion Deon Lendore (44.41) has run faster than Norwood this spring.
With his performance, Norwood became the second LSU athlete to set a new Hodges Stadium record this past weekend as his 44.94 smashed the previous facility record of 45.08 set by George Mason’s David Verburg at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds during the 2012 outdoor season. Lady Tiger senior Tori Bliss threw a stadium record of 57 feet, 9¾ inches in a qualifying effort in the women’s shot put Thursday afternoon.
On Saturday, the Tigers had the second-fastest qualifying performance in the men’s 4x100-meter relay as Joshua Thompson, Tremayne Acy and Aaron Ernest joined with Norwood in running 39.25 for victory in the third heat. They beat the likes of South Carolina (39.60) and North Carolina A&T (39.90) to the finish line in their heat.
The Tigers followed only the winning time of 39.23 by the Florida Gators from the first heat in the event standings with the day’s second-fastest time.
The Tigers also were impressive in their final race of the weekend as they posted the leading qualifying time in the field in the men’s 4x400-meter relay. Norwood anchored the team, which also featured senior Quincy Downing and juniors Cyril Grayson and Fitzroy Dunkley, to a heat-winning time of 3:02.48. The mark was ahead of Ohio State’s 3:02.67 in the second quarterfinal race.
Norwood is one of 25 NCAA semifinalists for the Tigers and Lady Tigers.
“We’ll be taking two very strong teams to Eugene, so the next couple of weeks will be big for us in terms of our preparation for the semifinals and finals at these NCAA Championships,” LSU Track and Field Coach Dennis Shaver said in a news release. “We’re looking forward to a great finish to the season.”