Failing to Live Up to Sha’Carri Richardson’s Legacy, LSU’s Front-Runner Falls to National Champion at NCAA Finals

10.75 seconds. That is the benchmark Sha’Carri Richardson set in collegiate 100m under the banner of the Louisiana State University in 2019. Five years and the mark has not yet been dented. Her legacy on the NCAA tracks is left for the next generation of LSU sprinters and Brianna Lyston is a prominent face among them.

In March, Lyston created a ripple with her first 100m race since she joined LSU. At the Battle on the Bayou meet, she finished the race with a time of 10.87 seconds (+2.6 m/s). In that, she recorded the fastest career opener in collegiate history. So going into the NCAA track and field final, expectations were high for her to brighten the name of LSU once again. But this time she fell short of that.

After this season’s NCAA Track and Field final, Brianna Lyston fell to McKenzie Long of Ole Miss as the latter grabbed the honor of the national champion. However, with her time of 10.82 seconds, even Long could not touch Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA benchmark.

Lyston came up with 10.89 seconds, with a tailwind of +2.2m/sec. After the race, Lyston declared that she did not have much to complain about. Notably, to date, Jacious Sears has come closest to SCR’s record when the former clocked 10.77s at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in April. 

“I was shocked. My coaches tell me in practice, ‘You’re going to run a good time, you’re going to run a good time, just execute, just execute.’ I think they were more prepared to see that time on the board than me, if anything,” she shared later.

By getting back to Lyston, coming in her first full NCAA season, and receiving her silver medal, the radiant face said, “Did what I could for my team, did what I could for myself and mentor… I’m overjoyed.” It seemed that she took it easy, without the compulsion to come up with a particular time or position.

Sha’Carri Richardson had somewhat the same reaction after her 2019 record run. “Coming into today, I never gave myself a time because I said, ‘If you give yourself a goal, you limit yourself.” Such a mindset also keeps one sane, something that Lyston’s coach has tried amid rising expectations for her.

Brianna Lyston’s coach’s words equal to Sha’Carri Richardson 

“There’s going to be a lot of noise, People talking, ‘oh, you’re running too much, or, oh, you’re not this and that and everything else,” said Head Track Coach Dennis Shaver, pointing at Lyston’s early success. According to him, social media makes the situation all the more difficult for the rising stars. But to keep her on track, Shaver’s advice is to focus on holistic development, instead of just the tracks.

“You need to enjoy it, but you also need to understand that the consistency about how you go about your daily living and preparing yourself to be the best student-athlete you can be here at LSU is a real job,” Shaver had said after Lyston’s success in the Bayou meet. From what the athlete said after her silver-winning race, it seemed that she has been following these to a T. Meanwhile, Sha’Carri Richardson continues her winning run on the world stage.

Two weeks ago, Sha’Carri Richardson claimed the Prefontaine Classic title in the 100m event in a stacked field. That day, no one, including the 5-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, had an answer to Sha’Carri’s timing of 10.83 seconds, her season-best. After giving such a performance while her previous two contests in 200m were disappointing, the 24-year-old had a different perspective on her win.

Speaking on that mindset, she said, “I think my performance reflected my training, as well as my mindset as well as my faith in continuing to understand who I am and develop me as a person as well as an athlete and as a woman.” That sounded so similar to Shaver’s words. Therefore, after tasting success at a tender stage, it might be right for Lyston to nurture her talent gradually rather than chasing everything too fast. After all, slow and steady wins the race!