RUSTON – Louisiana Tech's Oscar Smith has been named the Conference USA Track and Field Male Newcomer of the Year, announced by the league on Friday.
 
The hurdler is the first Bulldog to receive a conference end-of-the-year award since Trey Hadnot won Outstanding Track Performer in the Western Athletic Conference in 2013.
 
The Ohio State transfer burst onto the scene by breaking the nearly 20-year-old record in the 60m hurdles in his first meet with a time of 7.82 in the prelims. Smith would come back in the finals and improve his time to 7.74.
 
Smith would conclude the indoor season with two wins in four meets, culminating in a silver medal at the CUSA Indoor Championship, where he broke the program record again with a time of 7.70. He would finish with eight marks on the school's top 10 performance list.
 
The outdoor season started slowly, with a fourth-place finish at the Arkansas Spring Invitational being the best result in the 110m hurdles in the first two meets. However, he would quickly pick up momentum after winning the Jim Mize Invitational.
 
The following week, the Nassau, Bahamas, native clocked a time of 13.55 at the LSU Alumni Gold, securing his spot in the NCAA East Regional. It would be Smith's third appearance in the regional after qualifying twice in his two seasons with the Buckeyes.
 
Smith would continue to improve his time at the regional in Jacksonville, Florida, qualifying with the top time in the entire meet in the first round. His 13.52 in the prelims would finish the season as the fourth-fastest time in program history and the fastest since Ricky Stubbs ran a 13.30 wind-aided time at the Southland Conference Championships in 1974.
 
He would win his quarterfinal heat to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a time of 13.42, the second fastest time in program history.
 
At the NCAA Championships, Smith clocked a time of 13.45 to finish 10th overall, missing out on the finals by 0.02 seconds. The 10th-place finish earned him a Second Team All-American honors, the first second-team honor by a Bulldog since 2016 and the first by a male hurdler since 1977.

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