Five Questions with Mason Lawyer
In advance of the 2025 NCAA Track and Field Championships next week in Eugene, Ore., wsucougars.com had the chance to catch up with junior sprinter Mason Lawyer, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in three events.
Last week in College Station, Texas, during the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round, Lawyer advanced to the NCAA Finals in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, as well as part of the 4x100 Relay team. Lawyer blazed his way to a 9.95 in the 100 meters, which is a personal best and would have been a school record, but a wind over 2.0 (it was +2.1) prevents it going into the record books. His next race, however, the 200m, he did set a school record, running 20.34. That day began as he and three teammates, Bryson Stubblefield, Parker Duskin and Keenan Kuntz, set the WSU program record in the 4x100 Relay after running 39.09.
Let's get to Five Questions with Mason Lawyer.
1. Your first NCAA Championships Finals appearance, what are your thoughts about qualifying in three events?
"I'm super excited to qualify in three events. Not many people are able to do that for all three, which is cool as some people drop some events to focus on just one. It is cool to be able to do that for my three favorites and show what I can do on the track."
2. You ran 9.95 in the 100m quarterfinals in College Station, what is it like to run that fast and what led to that time?
"It's a weird feeling, it's cool. During the race it didn't seem like it was that fast until you look at the clock and see that it's going to be sub-10 performance that I just did. And then watching the video back from the start it did look like it was going to be a fast time coming out of College Station in the 100. What led to that time started with our 4x100 team earlier that day because it took the pressure off of having to complete the task so I can go to nationals as well. We were able to run the 4x100 before the 100 and be able to have the pressure off, we're going to national already so let's see how many events we can do it in. The boys on the team helped with that, get the job done early, so then the stress is off of me and we're ready to rock and roll."
3.You set the WSU school record in the 200m, did you think you had that in you after the 100m performance a few hours earlier?
"I think I did. I was always striving there, always right there. Sometimes I would pass it but then the wind wouldn't be in my favor, a little too fast for it to be put in the record books. But, the entire day after the 4x100 I was hot, I never cooled down, kept working, kept doing my warm-ups. I can't cool down because of the heat, the adrenaline and the fact of running at regionals."
4. Needless to say, you had a big day in College Station, and it started with a school-record in the 4x100 Relay. What was the group's approach to that race and what was the key to posting that time?
"We knew we had that time in us, there are still always things we can fix on the relay. We had one botched handoff a little bit so it's exciting to see that, hey, we went 39.0 with a little mess up on a hand off, what happens if we get every single one perfect to the 'T' where they are supposed to leave (on time). So, I'm excited to see what we can run. The preparation, we've been doing this all year long, we've been running the 4x1 since early March. It's been in the works, keeping it going, moving people around to see what would be the best for them. It was cool to see us put it together against some big teams from different conferences like the Big Ten and SEC."
5. What do you expect the environment to be like next week in Eugene and what will be key to your success?
"I'm expecting it to be just crazy. I've never been to the National Championship until now. I've seen it, watched it on TV and I see what it takes to get to the next rounds. I see the environment, and it's probably the mecca of track and field. It's cool to see that and just know what I did to get there will be good enough to put me where I need to go so if I can just lock in like I was in College Station then I know we are going to have a good day."
In advance of the 2025 NCAA Track and Field Championships next week in Eugene, Ore., wsucougars.com had the chance to catch up with junior sprinter Mason Lawyer, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in three events.
Last week in College Station, Texas, during the NCAA Championships Preliminary Round, Lawyer advanced to the NCAA Finals in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, as well as part of the 4x100 Relay team. Lawyer blazed his way to a 9.95 in the 100 meters, which is a personal best and would have been a school record, but a wind over 2.0 (it was +2.1) prevents it going into the record books. His next race, however, the 200m, he did set a school record, running 20.34. That day began as he and three teammates, Bryson Stubblefield, Parker Duskin and Keenan Kuntz, set the WSU program record in the 4x100 Relay after running 39.09.
Let's get to Five Questions with Mason Lawyer.
1. Your first NCAA Championships Finals appearance, what are your thoughts about qualifying in three events?
"I'm super excited to qualify in three events. Not many people are able to do that for all three, which is cool as some people drop some events to focus on just one. It is cool to be able to do that for my three favorites and show what I can do on the track."
2. You ran 9.95 in the 100m quarterfinals in College Station, what is it like to run that fast and what led to that time?
"It's a weird feeling, it's cool. During the race it didn't seem like it was that fast until you look at the clock and see that it's going to be sub-10 performance that I just did. And then watching the video back from the start it did look like it was going to be a fast time coming out of College Station in the 100. What led to that time started with our 4x100 team earlier that day because it took the pressure off of having to complete the task so I can go to nationals as well. We were able to run the 4x100 before the 100 and be able to have the pressure off, we're going to national already so let's see how many events we can do it in. The boys on the team helped with that, get the job done early, so then the stress is off of me and we're ready to rock and roll."
3.You set the WSU school record in the 200m, did you think you had that in you after the 100m performance a few hours earlier?
"I think I did. I was always striving there, always right there. Sometimes I would pass it but then the wind wouldn't be in my favor, a little too fast for it to be put in the record books. But, the entire day after the 4x100 I was hot, I never cooled down, kept working, kept doing my warm-ups. I can't cool down because of the heat, the adrenaline and the fact of running at regionals."
4. Needless to say, you had a big day in College Station, and it started with a school-record in the 4x100 Relay. What was the group's approach to that race and what was the key to posting that time?
"We knew we had that time in us, there are still always things we can fix on the relay. We had one botched handoff a little bit so it's exciting to see that, hey, we went 39.0 with a little mess up on a hand off, what happens if we get every single one perfect to the 'T' where they are supposed to leave (on time). So, I'm excited to see what we can run. The preparation, we've been doing this all year long, we've been running the 4x1 since early March. It's been in the works, keeping it going, moving people around to see what would be the best for them. It was cool to see us put it together against some big teams from different conferences like the Big Ten and SEC."
5. What do you expect the environment to be like next week in Eugene and what will be key to your success?
"I'm expecting it to be just crazy. I've never been to the National Championship until now. I've seen it, watched it on TV and I see what it takes to get to the next rounds. I see the environment, and it's probably the mecca of track and field. It's cool to see that and just know what I did to get there will be good enough to put me where I need to go so if I can just lock in like I was in College Station then I know we are going to have a good day."