Track & Field | 6/5/2024 11:08:00 PM
EUGENE, Ore. – The 2024 outdoor track and field season has been a turning point for North Carolina A&T sophomore men's outdoor track and field hurdler Thomas Smith IV. Alongside his redshirt freshman teammate Jason Holmes, Smith competed in the semifinals of the 110-meter hurdles at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the University of Oregon's Historic Hayward Field on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in his career.
In addition, the Aggies 4x100-meter relay team also competed at nationals on Wednesday. Smith and Holmes failed to qualify for the 110H national final, and the 4x100 team, which was comprised of seniors Aveon Reid and Caleb Jackson, Holmes and freshman Isaiah Taylor, also did not qualify for the championship final.
But Smith had another personal-record performance on Wednesday, finishing the third heat in 13.57 (13.563) to finish fifth in the heat ahead of Davidson's Jayden Smith's 13.567. The top two in the three heats and the next three fastest times qualified for Friday's final scheduled for 9:42 p.m. EST.
Meanwhile, Smith will earn second-team All-American honors when the nationals conclude. That is not a bad finish for a gentleman who opened the season running a 14.23 in the 110H at the Bob Davidson Team Challenge on March 23.
"I didn't know I was going to make nationals until I got to regionals," said Smith. "At regionals, I just had that moment when I knew I was going to run fast. "Even at practice, my coaches said, 'You look way faster.' I don't know what happened. Maybe it is the fact that I got some new spikes. I'm not sure."
Smith went under 14 seconds in the 110H for the first time in his career a week after the Bob Davidson Challenge, running a 13.96 at North Carolina State's Raleigh Relays. He did run a then personal-record 13.71 at A&T's Aggie Classic at Marcus T. Johnson Track on April 20, helping him qualify for the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round (regionals) before finishing third at the 2024 CAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 13.85.
But Smith appeared to find an extra gear at the NCAA East Prelims at the University of Kentucky's Outdoor Track and Field Facility, May 22-25. He posted another PR in the first round of regionals with a 13.62 on May 22. Two days later, he earned his trip to Eugene, Ore., by running a 13.65 in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday, he completed his incredible 2024 journey with the 13.57 PR.
"I'm happy, but I have always known this is where I am supposed to be," said Smith. "It feels good because I deserve to be here. I should have been here."
Holmes finished the second heat in fifth place by running a 13.71. He will earn honorable mention All-American accolades. Meanwhile, Holmes and the 4x100 team finished fifth in the third heat by running 39.59, the 16th-fastest time. Reid, Holmes, Jackson, and Taylor will earn second-team All-American accolades.
