Ella Onojuvwevwo Shatters LSU 400-Meter Record On Day One Of NCAA Championships

Tiger Rag News Services

The LSU track and field team closed out their first day of action at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday, hosted by Arkansas at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The men have two points after a day of competition.

Final Results

It wasn’t a matter of if she would do it, but rather a matter of when it would happen for senior Ella Onojuvwevwo.

The Nigerian 400-meter sprinter blazed out to a lead in the first 200 meters and never looked back just like she did in her 400m-season debut a couple weeks back when she claimed SEC gold. Onojuvwevwo took the NCAA prelim field by storm with her LSU and African record of 50.28 seconds, priming her for something special in the final on Saturday. The time of 50.28 seconds is also the No. 5 performance in collegiate history and the No. 1 time in the world for 2026.

In Onojuvwevwo’s season debut for the event two weeks ago she clocked what was her new indoor PR of 50.96 seconds. It’s safe to say she will be looking to become the first Tiger ever under 50 seconds tomorrow.

Senior Jordan Turner was the lone Tiger with a shot at scoring on Friday. Turner took on the men’s long jump and got out hot as he held the initial lead with a leap of 7.97 meters (26-1.75). The Jamaican closed the day with a seventh-place finish, scoring two points for LSU and earning First Team All-American honors.

Freshman Athaleyha Hinckson was the first Tiger to take a swing at the NCAA’s this week as she took on the 60-meter prelims. Hinckson clocked a great time of 7.21 seconds but was first out of the NCAA final by just .006 of a second. Although she was undoubtedly looking for an appearance in the final, a Second Team All-American appearance is a great sign of what’s to come for the freshman.

Caymanian Jaiden Reid took on the men’s 60-meter prelims just after Hinckson, finishing 11^th overall and seventh in his heat with the time of 6.61 seconds. Reid closed his day moments later with the 200-meter prelims where he clocked a time of 20.83 seconds to finish 10^th overall. The junior earned two Second Team All-American nods for his two top-16 finishes.

Keliza Smith made her first appearance on the national stage for LSU and finished 16^th overall in the women’s 200 meter with a time of 23.35 seconds. This performance will earn her a Second Team All-American honor.