After an impressive 2018 on the gridiron, Auburn's dual-sport stars are shining on the track, too.
At Friday's Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational, Auburn freshman Anthony Schwartz broke the program's freshman 60m record twice, and sophomore Noah Igbinoghene set a new personal best on the men's long jump with a 7.71m/25-3.5.
Schwartz cracked the record with a 6.62 in the semifinal heats. Two hours later, he broke it again with a 6.59 — tying the fastest 60m of the Olympic gold medalist's life.
“Anthony really lit it up,” Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. “He’s still making that transition (from football) and has a lot of room for improvement. He didn’t get a great start like he normally does on his 6.59 race, but he held his composure and was pretty impressive overall.”
The time is the ninth-fastest in the nation this season, tying the top spot among freshmen. Schwartz finished third in the 60m behind NC State's Cravont Charleston (6.54) and Houston's Mario Burke (6.58).
Schwartz, the 2018 Gatorade national boys track and field athlete of the year, previously ran a 6.59 last March at the New Balance Nationals Indoors in New York.
A native of Pembroke Pines, Florida, the 6-foot, 180-pound Schwartz filled in for the injured Eli Stove at the flanker receiver position for Auburn football this past fall. Schwartz scored seven touchdowns — five rushing and two receiving — on 49 touches. As a sophomore next season, the Tigers will look to Schwartz again as a consistent fixture in the offense after 2018 wide receiver starters Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton graduated and declared for the NFL Draft, respectively.
Igbinoghene set a personal record for the second meet in a row at the Clemson event with his long jump, finishing third behind South Carolina's Yann Randrianasolo and Houston's Trumaine Jefferson.
“Noah is starting to get it figured out,” Spry said. “He had a PR and even had a foul that was longer. He did a great job and continues to get better each meet.”
As a starter at cornerback for the Tigers last football season, Igbinoghene broke up 11 passes, and forced one fumble and one interception. The Trussville, Alabama, product was also Auburn's primary kick returner, taking one kickoff for a touchdown against Arkansas. His 28.27 average yards per return would rank in the top-10 nationally if Igbinoghene had maintained the average while hitting the 1.2 returns per game played threshold (he returned just 11 kicks in 14 games).
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
