Shawnti Jackson broke the NCAA outdoor 300 meter record in her first meet for the LSU track and field team at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on March 27. Jackson, who transferred from Arkansas last fall, finished with a time of 35.89 seconds, becoming the first woman to run under 36 seconds in this event.
Jackson’s performance surpassed the previous collegiate outdoor record of 36.41 seconds set by Jermaisha Arnold of Texas A&M in 2024. Her time also ranks among the top 25 fastest ever recorded worldwide for both indoor and outdoor competitions.
In other events at the meet, Jeremiah Walker won the men’s 300 meters with a time of 32.58 seconds, which is now second-fastest in NCAA history. Shakeem McKay placed third with a time of 32.83 seconds, ranking as the third-best mark all-time among collegiate athletes.
LSU sophomore Yuya Sawada secured her first win of the season in the women’s 3000 meters with a personal best of 9:25.15—the fourth-fastest performance in school history—while freshman Micaela Villarreal followed closely behind with a time of 9:34.23, marking her second appearance outdoors and earning eighth place on LSU’s all-time list.
Additional notable performances included Hugh Carlson winning the men’s 3000 meters with a personal record (PR) of 8:26.93; Skyler Franklin running what is now fifth-fastest outdoor collegiate women’s mark at this distance (37.23); Nasya Williams finishing ninth all-time (37.83); and Isaac Lewis clocking seventh-best all-time for men (33.52).
The results reflect strong early-season form across multiple event groups for LSU as they continue their campaign.
