Trindon Holiday leaves LSU with two championship rings

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By Stephanie Kraft

LSU All-American Senior Trindon Holliday now has two national championship rings. He earned the first as a running back/kick returner with the 2007 LSU football team and recently earned the second last week by taking the title in the 100-meter dash at the 2009 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The much-anticipated race also featured fellow football standout and dual-sport competitor Jacoby Ford of Clemson. Holliday sprinted across the finish line in 10.00 to capture his first career individual NCAA title and become the third LSU Tiger in four years to be crowned NCAA champion in the 100-meter dash.

Holliday overcame an uncharacteristically slow start to catch Ford by the 40-meter mark and used his strength to surge ahead of the field with 30 meters to go for an easy victory. Ford dropped out of the race with an apparent leg injury as Holliday began to pull away with Ahmad Rashad of Southern California finishing as the NCAA runner-up with a time of 10.10.

"I didn't get the start that I wanted at all, but I felt like I was catching him [Ford] at 40," Holliday said. "We were even at that point. I was just strong enough to pull away. I do feel like I executed my race better than I have all year. This is something that I've been working toward all year long. There have been too many seconds and thirds in the past and I wanted to get that title."

Holliday's official time was 9.991, but times in all sprint races are rounded up to the nearest tenth of a second in the sport of track and field, leaving him one one-thousandth shy of cracking 10.00.

He was also recently named the NCAA South Central Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year by The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Holliday still has a few more opportunities to wear the purple and gold as he competes with the LSU football squad for the 2009 season.

The Zachary, La. native is truly a dual-sport standout. Holliday led the Tigers in punt returns last year with 609 yards, and holds the LSU school record for kickoff returns for touchdowns.

Holiday will undoubtedly continue to be a game-changer every time he touches the football this season, whether working on special teams or as a "hidden" threat offensively coming out of the backfield.

When Holliday leaves LSU he will likely have his choice of careers in track and field and/or football. He is seen as one of the fastest sprinters in the world on the track and is widely thought to be among the top 100 picks in the 2010 NFL draft.

Originally Published: Issue 805 - June 24, 2009

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