Arkansas Track and Field Star Jarrion Lawson Nominated for ESPY Award
By Cory Thone
Arkansas Razorbacks track and field standout Jarrion Lawson has made quite a name for himself while in Fayetteville. The 15 time All-American made national news earlier this year, and has now been nominated for an ESPY as Best Male Collegiate Athlete.
Jarrion Lawson’s career at Arkansas has gone slightly overlooked, which isn’t that surprising. While the Arkansas Razorbacks track and field program is one of, if not the, best in the nation, it will never have the mass appeal of other mainstream sports.
That hasn’t kept Jarrion Lawson from making front page national news, though. The Texarkana, Texas native has etched his name into the record books for Arkansas, and has had one of the best individual careers that a Razorback could have.
Darren McFadden, Corliss Williamson, Andrew Benintendi, Tyson Gay, and now Jarrion Lawson. (Yes, there are lots and lots of other players. Don’t take to the comments asking why I didn’t list *insert name* please) Lawson has a chance to accomplish something that no other collegiate Track and Field star has ever done…win an ESPY for best Male Athlete.
Lawson has been nominated, along with Alabama running back Derrick Henry, Oklahoma guard Buddy Heild, Stanford soccer star Jordan Morris, and Oklahoma State wrestler Alex Dieringer. That is quite a list of athletes, from several different sports.
There’s never been a track and field or a soccer player win this ESPY. The very first ESPY for Best Male Collegiate Athlete went to Cael Sanderson of Iowa State. He was a wrestler, and you may remember him as the eventual gold medal winner at the 2004 Olympics. He went 159-0 in his time at Iowa State. Sanderson was the last non-football or basketball player to win the award, though. From 2003 to the present, it’s gone to the likes of Tim Tebow twice (ugh), John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, and Johnny Manziel.
Basically, I’d say it’s long overdue that a non-mainstream player wins it. We all know the accomplishments of Hield and Henry. Jordan Morris was one of the most dominant soccer players in NCAA history, and is already making big plays for the MLS with the Seattle Sounders. He is a star in the soccer world, and will undoubtedly continue to make waves as his career goes forward.
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Alex Dieringer is another superstar wrestler like Sanderson. He’s a 3 time NCAA champion and a 4 time All-American, and is an Olympic hopeful (I’m assuming?). He’s got a lot of buzz around him right now as the outside-the-box favorite to win this award.
But if you ask me, the best individual performance on this list is undoubtedly Jarrion Lawson. First off, Lawson is a 5 time NCAA champion, a 15 time All-American, a 2 time All-Academic team selection, and he is the 2016 SEC Track and Field AND Academic Athlete of the Year. He excels both in his sport and in the classroom, and is a world class athlete.
How world class, you say? Well, he just made national news for achieving the Triple Crown at the NCAA championship. That means that he won the 100m, 200m, and the triple jump at the same event. That’s only happened one other time in NCAA history, and it was accomplished by a little guy named JESSE OWENS.
Lawson has a great chance to represent not just the University of Arkansas, but the USA in the Olympics. He is a standout both in and out of his sport, and he’s accomplishing things that no other person in his sport has done since Jesse Owens.
It’s time to give the ESPY to a track and field athlete, ESPN. And there hasn’t been anyone in the sport as deserving as Arkansas Razorback legend Jarrion Lawson.