Just a couple of weeks ago, many might have written off Shawnti Jackson’s season as underwhelming. At the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Jackson clocked an 11.45-second finish in the 100m, managing just 13th place, a performance that raised questions about her form and fitness.
And when she was a no-show at April’s Tom Jones Invitational, some wondered if one of America’s most promising sprint prospects had hit a rough patch.
But if there’s one thing athletics always teaches us, it’s never to count out a fighter. And at the 2025 NCAA Division 1 Track and Field West Regionals, Shawnti Jackson made that lesson abundantly clear.
A Statement Performance at the NCAA West Regionals
On May 29th, Jackson stormed back into the conversation with a wind-aided (+2.2m/s) 11.05-second dash in the 100m heats, her second individual 100m race of the season and a scorching return to form. Not only did it secure her a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinals, but it also turned heads across the athletics community.
Jackson’s 11.05s is 0.42 seconds faster than Sha’Carri Richardson’s 2024 season opener at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, where the American sprint queen posted 11.47 seconds. That’s no minor feat.
Even Tara Davis-Woodhall, the Paris 2024 Olympic long jump gold medalist, took to social media to applaud Shawnti’s resurgence.
“So good to see Shawnti back in action.”
Why the Hype?
Shawnti Jackson has long been a name to watch in American sprinting circles. In 2023, while still a high school athlete, Jackson lit up the track with a national high school record of 10.89 seconds at the Music City Track Carnival a world-class time among seasoned professionals.
That performance slotted her fourth on the all-time U20 women’s 100m list, trailing only legends like Sha’Carri Richardson (10.75s) and Tamari Davis (10.83s) in the American rankings.
A New Chapter in a Promising Career
This season, before her individual 100m breakout, Jackson already secured four relay victories at major meets like the Texas Relays and Arkansas Invitational. But the NCAA West Regionals marked her first individual 100m statement of the year, and what a statement it was.
Her 11.05s performance would’ve been among the fastest U20 times globally this season had it been eligible for the world lead list. Even more, it matches what established sprinters like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have posted in 2025.
Can She Shake Up the 100m Elite?
The women’s 100m is stacked this year, with NCAA stars like Anavia Battle, McKenzie Long, and India Mayberry dipping under the 11-second barrier.
But if Jackson can build on her newfound momentum and sharpen her start and finish phases, she could very well position herself as a serious contender, both in the NCAA and on the senior international stage.
