Sprinter Davontè Howell has sent a clear message in his opening race of 2026 following a historic performance at the Clemson Invitational on 10 Jan. in Clemson, South Carolina.
Representing the University of Tennessee, Howell secured a victory in the men’s 60-metre final, crossing the finish line in a blistering 6.49 seconds.
In a remarkably close finish, Howell and his teammate Traunard Folson both crossed the line in 6.49 seconds, with Howell officially credited with the victory by a margin of just one-thousandth of a second – 6.485 to 6.486.
For Howell, this win sets a new personal best – significantly improving upon his previous collegiate best of 6.63 seconds – and a new national record for Cayman – surpassing the shared record of 6.56 seconds set by Kemar Hyman in 2012 and Jaiden Reid last year.
Furthermore, the performances of both Howell and Folson “established new World and NCAA leads for the 2025-26 indoor campaign, while tying for third on UT’s all-time list and ranking 12th in collegiate history” as stated in an article on University of Tennessee Sports website.
Reflecting on the breakthrough, Howell noted that prior to the Clemson race, he “eased back into training as I still needed time to let my body recover after the [previous] long season.”
Nonetheless, he resumed the process sharing, “Over the last few months training has been very intense and very hard with my body needing a lot of recovery to keep up with the training.”
With focus on the 60-metre victory, he says, “It means that my hard work is starting to be shown and paying off. I wouldn’t say I didn’t expect it, but just not so early on in the season. I’ve been working very hard behind the scenes, and I hope to continue to get better from here,” he concludes.
The 20-year-old sprinter is not slowing down, as he prepares to transition his momentum to the Arkansas Invitational on 16 Jan. where he is scheduled to compete in the 200m.
