“I’ve been coached by my Dad for like 18 years, so now going out of my comfort zone just takes a little adjusting.” This Razorback sophomore already sounds like a pro. Doesn’t she? After all, track and field is like a family business for her. Her father was a 2008 Olympics bronze medalist and has 4 World medals to his name. But what she is doing now, in 2025, is a whole different league. No wonder, she’s already dangerously close to Sha’Carri Richardson and her famous NCAA mark!

The athlete is none other than Shawnti Jackson. Two weeks back, she ran an 11.45-second time at the SEC Outdoor track and field championships and finished in 13th place. Yes, her form looked rusty, one could say. Roughly a month before that, she was scheduled to run two races at the Tom Jones Invitational in April. But she did not start. However, what she just did at the NCAA Champs recently is a complete turnaround! From rusty to dominant, from just another athlete to a real threat on the field, Jackson just flipped the narrative.

As per the May 29th X post by the Razorbacks, at the 2025 NCAA D1 Track and Field West Regionals, Shawnti Jackson just ran an incredible 100m time. She ran a wind-aided (+2.2m/s) 11.05s time to come second in her heat. However, this was enough to qualify her for the quarterfinals scheduled for this Saturday. And, it’s faster than Sha’Carri Richardson‘s 100m season opener this year. Yes, at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Richardson ran 11.47 seconds. So Jackson is so far about 0.42s faster than her.

Also, looking at Shawnti Jackson’s form, American athlete and Paris Olympics 2024 long jump gold medalist, Tara Davis-Woodhall, tweeted on the Razorbacks’ post. She wrote, “So good to see shawnti back in action.” Well, this is only Shawnti’s second 100m of the season, and she is already looking in such great form. Naturally, as the year progresses, she might dip sub-11 seconds. Also, this is more special because it’s her first individual race win of the season. Yes, Shawnti had registered 4 wins already, at the 2025 Texas Relays and the Arkansas Invitational. But they were all in the relays- 4x100m and 4x400m.

But why do we say that Shawnti is a threat in the 100m? Well, she has not just been faster than Sha’Carri Richardson this season, but her 11.05s 100m time so far this season equals what phenoms like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have run in 2025. Also, Jackson’s 11.05s time might have been the #2nd fastest U20 time this year, had it made it to the world lead list. Imagine! Need more on her 100m skillset? Well, one glimpse into the record book and you’ll see why she is a potential threat!

Jackson is the fourth fastest 100m junior behind Sha’Carri Richardson

Let’s hark back to 2023 for a bit. That’s when Shawnti Jackson set the national high school record in 100m with a 10.89s victory among professional sprinters in the Music City Track Carnival. That wasn’t just the high school record, but it made her rank #4 on the all-time U20 100m women’s list behind Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.75s NCAA 100m record time.

However, if we talk about just America, Shanti Jackson’s 10.89s time makes her the third fastest American junior behind Sha’Carri Richardson (10.75s) and Tamari Davis. (10.83s) But, in a season where NCAA phenoms like Anavia Battle, Mckenzie Long, India Mayberry, and others are already running faster or sub-11s timings, can Jackson level up and pose a real threat to the 100m runners? Let us know what you think below!