The Cougars had a strong pair of seasons last year in the 4×100 meter relays, during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. | File photo/The Cougar
The 4×100-meter relay is by far one of the most famous and possibly the most popular event track competitions have to offer.
It’s the event that head coach Leroy Burrell and assistant coach Carl Lewis won gold in at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, setting both the Olympic and World record with a 37.40-second time.
Last year, the relay team earned a trip to the NCAA Championships after winning the AAC Outdoor meet.
This year, they will be looking to defend their title and make another trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships meet.
Apart from dual competitor Issac Williams, these three sprinters are the returning members from the squad that earned a trip to Oregon last year.
Senior LeShon Collins: Collins hit the ground running his freshman year and has been a stand-out for the relay team ever since.
With Collins, the relay team has reached the NCAA Outdoor national meet, won every Outdoor conference meet they’ve participated in, and earned all-conference status for its members every year, and Collins has earned his spot every time with consistent success in the individual events.
Individually Collins has won the AAC Indoor 60 meter championship twice, won the AAC Outdoor 100 meter championship and earned second team All-American status for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships twice in the 60 meter, among other honors.
Statistically, Collins had his worst season individually last year, but will be looking to continue his string of success.
Senior James Arnett: Arnett has also been a member of the same 4×100 relay team that Collins has competed on.
As a member of that team, he has two Outdoor AAC titles, a C-USA championship and all-conference honors all three years.
Individually Arnett has qualified for the NCAA regionals in the 100-meter dash as well.
His personal bests for the Indoor meets are 6.84 seconds in the 60 meter and 21.72 seconds in the 200 meter.
To put it simply, Arnett has done his job to make the team successful.
Junior Curtis Brown: Last season, Brown finished fourth in the 200 meter at the AAC Indoor Championships.
Brown also set personal records in both the 200 meter and 60 meter competitions in his sophomore year.
Brown earned his way to the Outdoor 4x100m squad after setting personal bests in the 100-meter and 200-meter events at The American Conference Championships.
In addition to his success with the relay team, Brown finished second in the 200-meter dash at the AAC Outdoor meet with a personal best 21.04-second finish, earning second team All-AAC honors.
The coaches have made it clear that the team will not be named until after the Indoor season; it’s possible that incoming sprinters such as Gerald Mills and John Lewis III can make the squad, but for now: it’s anyone’s game.
