Christi McRae has quickly become a top sprinter for McNeese

March 27, 2008

It's been a short run for Christi McRae in becoming one of the top sprinters in McNeese State women's track history.

In fact, it took her only one outdoor track meet.

Last week in the Cowboy Relays, she won both the 100 meter and the 200 meter dashes, posting times that now rank among the best in the school's history.

Her 11.93 effort in the 100 is fourth best by a Cowgirl and her 24.39 clocking in the 200 is also the fourth fastest.

On Friday and Saturday she and her teammates - both Cowboys and Cowgirls - will compete in the LSU Relays. It's mainly a relay race with only a few individual running events slated but she will be running the 100 meter dash.

And, in that meet she will be going up against some of the better runners in the South.

McRae, a native of New Orleans who graduated from Lake Charles' Washington-Marion High School, is fairly new to track. She went to Eleanor McMain High in New Orleans but did not compete in track and following a move to Lake Charles, attended Washington-Marion where she only ran in a couple of meets at the end of the season.

"What drew my attention to her was what she did in some AAU meets that she ran in during the summer," McNeese track coach Brendon Gilroy said.

McRae was in training with former McNeese track standout Charles Avery and after posting some good times in the sprints, Avery suggested Gilroy check her out.

By this time McRae had enrolled at Southern University with the idea of earning a spot on that track team. The coach there, however, did not see her as a sprinter and wanted to use her in the weight events.

So, she didn't run and transferred to McNeese where in her very first season of track, she ran a school record 55.8 in the 400 meters, had a 7.52 in the 55 meters and a 25.22 in the 200 meters during the indoor season.

She also placed second in the 400 meters at the Southland Conference championship meet and was fifth in the 200 meters.

"Her career is all ahead of her," said Gilroy, "and it's going to be fun watching her progress each week."

Gilroy said that it's a very good possibility that some school records in the sprints could fall to her this season. Her best race may be the 400 meters but she probably won't compete in that until the middle of April.

School records are 11.72 in the 100, 24.06 in the 200 and 53.14 in the 400.

Besides McRae, other top performers the Cowboys and Cowgirls will have running in the LSU meet are jumpers Darrick and Marcus Brown, shot putter John Jamail, high jumper Lindsay Brooks, pole vaulter Julie Buller, javelin throwers David Richardson and Ben Chretien, distance runner Amy Guinn and the distance medley relay team of Jordan Neil, Dwight Charles, Michael Dyer and Stephen Scullion.

The Browns have gone over 24 feet in their careers in the long jump, Jamail has bettered 55 feet in the shot, Brooks holds the school record of 5-10 3/4 in the high jump, Buller has a season best of 10-6 in the pole vault and Guinn currently has the second fastest 1500 meter clocking in the Southland Conference.

The LSU meet will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Friday and at 10 a.m. on Saturday.