TIGER RAG NEWS SERVICES
The track at the University of Kentucky may have never been hotter for the LSU men’s 400 meter sprinters on Friday night as three Tigers punched their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 10-13.
Junior Grant Buckmiller of Lake Stevens, Washington, got the qualifying started for LSU as he clocked the time of 44.87 seconds, which tied him for No. 7 in the LSU record book. Shortly after, freshman Malachi Austin of Georgetown, Guyana, blazed to the identical time of 44.87 seconds. Austin’s time makes him the Guyanese record holder and the No. 2 Under 20 sprinter in the world for 2026. Sophomore Amal Glasgow of Kingstown, St. Vincent, was the third-fastest Tiger to punch a ticket to Eugene, clocking a Vincentian-national record of 45.01 seconds.
Senior Shakeem McKay of Laventille, Trinidad, just missed the cutoff with his new personal-best time of 45.24 seconds to finish 15th.
The day started in the men’s discus with sophomore Chad Hendricks of Mandeville, Jamaica, throwing the discus 58.30 meters (191-3) to qualify for the NCAA Championships and finish seventh overall in the east.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay recorded the first-running advancement to Eugene for the men as they recorded a time of 38.86 seconds. The team consisted of Jeremiah Walker, Jaiden Reid, Shakeem McKay, and Joshua Caleb. At the SEC Championships they recorded a top-10 time in LSU history and are looking to get back into that form when they compete together in Eugene.
Senior Matthew Sophia of Willemstand, Netherlands Antilles, cooked again during the 110-meter hurdles quarterfinals as he turned in a time of 13.32 seconds to qualify for Eugene and finish second.
Reid, a junior from the Cayman Islands, came back shortly after the 4×100 to punch his second and third tickets of the weekend. The Caymanian got out fast ahead of the rest of the field before cooling off midway. Reid closed with a time of 10.05 seconds to finish second in his heat and seventh overall.
To close the individual-qualifying for LSU, Reid clocked a new personal-best time of 20.01 seconds in the 200 meter. The blazing time becomes his new Caymanian national record and moves him to No. 5 in LSU history. The third ticket marks back-to-back seasons that the junior has racked up a trifecta at the NCAA East first round.
The quartet Amal Glasgow, Shakeem McKay, Grant Buckmiller, and Malachi Austin closed the 4×400-meter relay. McKay and Buckmiller clocked staggering splits of 44.71 seconds and 44.36 seconds, respectively. LSU closed with a time of 3:00.39 to go under the previous facility record and punch the men’s final ticket to Eugene.
LSU Men’s Tickets Punched
Malachi Austin – 400 Meter
Grant Buckmiller – 400 Meter
Amal Glasgow – 400 Meter
Chad Hendricks – Discus Throw
Jack Larriviere – Javelin Throw
Jaiden Reid – 100 Meter
Jaiden Reid – 200 Meter
Matthew Sophia – 110-Meter Hurdles
Jordan Turner – Long Jump
Men’s 4×100 (Walker, Reid, McKay, Caleb)
Men’s 4×400 (Glasgow, McKay, Buckmiller, Austin)
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