UGA sprinter Lawrence is fast and humble

Ask him what he’s accomplished this year, Lawrence grins, looks away, and says: “They tell me I broke this record, or that I’m the third- or fifth-best in the world at something. I don’t know. I don’t look those things up to check them out.”

Humility aside, Lawrence is, indeed, the fastest man on campus, said his coach John Stuart. This weekend, he’ll have another chance to show he’s one of the fastest collegiate athletes in the country while competing in the SEC championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

So far, his records are newsworthy. His 45.03 run in the 400-meter run a couple of weeks ago at Arkansas was the fastest indoor run since Kerron Clement set a world record of 44.57 five years ago. It was the third-fastest time in collegiate history and seventh-best overall in the world.

And while the 400-meter run might be his best, his most impressive records are in the shorter runs. Earlier this year at Virginia Tech, Lawrence ran a 32.32 in the 300-meter race, besting the 23-year-old collegiate record. That run by Lawrence was also the fifth-fastest time ever and the fastest time in the world this year, threatening track legend’s Wallace Spearmon's world-record time of 31.88 set in 2005.

So how would he do in the glamorous 100-meter run, the race that made Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt household names?

“He could run the 100,” Stuart said, “probably as fast as anyone in the country.” But he’s long and tall, and it takes him a while to uncoil. In the longer runs, the start isn’t as critical and it fits him a little better. But he still ran the 60 meters in 6.75 and has a 10.4 time in the 100, without really training for those races.”

Lawrence is fine with shelving any 100-meter goals.

“No sir, that’s not my race,” he said. “It’s too quick starting. There are too many fast people out there who can start good.”

Lawrence, a Jacksonville native, didn’t begin to run competitively until his junior year in high school. He was in ROTC in high school and had risen through the ranks, first achieving the position of drill-team commander, then squadron commander.

Then some fellow bet him that he could beat Lawrence in a race. That was a mistake.

“I don’t remember his name, but I’m thankful for the dude who made that bet with me,” Lawrence said. “That got my competitive juices going.”

He joined his high school track team not knowing much about style or techniques. He was so far under the recruiters’ radars, that even by his senior year he wasn’t highly sought after.

“He was so young in the sport, but we knew about him and brought him in for a visit,” Stuart said. “He loved it here and committed on the spot. The next weekend, he went out and ran a 20.89 in the 200, a 46.6 in the 400 and a 10.41 in the 100. All of the sudden, everyone wanted him.”

Florida State and Florida don’t let many super track athletes from north Florida get away. But Lawrence said he never considered not coming to Georgia after his one and only visit.

“The decision to come here was not hard at all,” he said. “I fell in love with the campus and the team on my first visit, and it just felt like home. Now, my mom trusts Coach Stuart like he was my parent.”

His mother, Elaine Davis, will be in the stands this weekend watching Lawrence compete. She has seen some of his collegiate races, but not many. So he wants to put on a good show for her. That could mean more records getting broken.

“She’s flying all the way to Arkansas,” he said. “I think she’ll be expecting something special. I don’t want to disappoint.”

Davis is not only Lawrence’s biggest fan, she’s his harshest critic and his best friend. She raised Lawrence and his sister by herself, Lawrence said, and can motivate him with an encouraging word or a gentle jab, whichever is needed at the time.

“On days of the meet, she used to send me text messages about lions in Africa chasing down their food,” he said, laughing at his own story. “I’m not sure what it was all about, but it made me want to run fast.

“But she also gets on me if I don’t run my best race, too. I ran a 20.8 in a preliminary last year, and that was good enough to win the meet. I didn’t need to run again. But she told me, ‘Torrin, what’s the matter with you? You are going to race again, and you are going to beat your best time.’ I beat my best time of 20.78 with a 20.77, so I guess she was right about that.”

Lawrence will run the 400-meter individual race and the 4×400-meter relay.

Stuart isn’t saying which race or races Lawrence will run this weekend, not wanting to give opposing teams a hint at which race he will or won’t be running. But he almost certainly will run the 4×400-meter relay and either the 200-meter or 400-meter individual races. And the Arkansas indoor track is notoriously fast.

“I love running that track,” Lawrence said.

Georgia should have Lawrence for two more years. And in two years, a pretty important summer race will be going on in London called the Summer Olympics.

“I think anyone who does what I do dreams of it,” he said. “Yeah, I definitely want to be there. God gave me some talent, and I want to be the best at what I do. I just don’t like to talk like that.”