LSU's Holliday wins 100 at NCAA Championships

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jun 13, 2009

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — LSU All-American Trindon Holliday has been chasing an individual title at the NCAA Track and Field Championships for more than two years, only to finish second three times and third once in five previous indoor and outdoor meets.

To Holliday, a Zachary native, enough was enough.

On Friday night, his world-class speed finally made him the fastest man in NCAA track as he won the 100 meters final with a time of 10.00 seconds at John McDonnell Field. The time equaled the personal-best he recorded in winning his preliminary heat Wednesday.

“I’ve been working on this all year,” said Holliday, whose only previous NCAA title came when he anchored the Tigers’ winning 4 x 100-meter relay team last year. “I had enough seconds and thirds. I knew I just had to run my race and be strong.”

Holliday, a senior who finished second in 2007 and was third last year in the 100, actually ran a 9.991 according to the FinishLynx timing system. But the time is rounded up to the next tenth of a second, producing the 10.00.

Coupled with his team’s second-place effort in the 4 x 100 relay earlier in the night and a second-place finish by Walter Henning in the hammer, the fifth-ranked Tigers temporarily surged into the team lead with 30 points.

But second-ranked Oregon took the lead before the night was over with 36 points to LSU’s 30 after 13 of 21 events. The four-day meet concludes today.

On the women’s side, Oregon held the lead, also after 13 events of 21 events, with 39 points and Southern Cal was second with 21. LSU was in 25th with 9 1/2 points with eight events to be contested today.

Holliday came out of the blocks just behind Clemson’s Jacoby Ford, who beat Holliday in the 60 meters at the NCAA indoor meet in March.

Running into a slight headwind, Holliday dug deep in his drive phase and caught Ford at the 40-meter mark, then surged to the front midway through the race — just as Ford pulled up with a leg injury.

Southern Cal’s Ahmad Rashad took second in 10.10 seconds, with Texas A&M’s Gerald Phiri taking third at 10.18.

“I didn’t get the start I wanted, but I got out good and went into my drive phase,” Holliday said. “When I got to 40 meters, I was even with (Ford). I executed my race a little better (to get back into it) and just pulled away.”

Holliday, who was in the lane next to Ford, said he didn’t see him pull up.