WATCH: Legendary athlete Carl Lewis' prodigy, Louie Hinchliffe clocks 9.84s to record the fastest all-condition 100m of 2024

The University of Houston Cougars' track and field athlete Louie Hinchliffe ran the fastest 100m of the year in all conditions. The legendary Carl Lewis tutee won in a time of 9.84s, leaving reigning champion teammate Shaun Maswanganyi in second with 9.89s in the NCAA West Preliminary Round.

Louie Hinchliffe made waves in his freshman year at WSU, lowering the freshman 60m record to 6.71s, therefore securing the second spot in his second indoor meet. Not long after, he further lowered the time to 6.60s, tying for the No.2 position in the WSU all-time list. This achievement earned him the silver spot at the Ken Shannon Invitational.

Hinchliffe clocked 10.23s in the 100m in his first collegiate outdoor meet. Following that, he acquired the top spot in WSU history by breaking the all-time program record in 10.22s (100m) at the MAC St Relays Elite. Coached by the nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, Louie Hinchliffe forged a path of glory under legendary tutelage.

Carrying forward his prowess to the 2024 season as well, now a sophomore at the University of Houston, Louie Hinchliffe competed at the recently concluded quarterfinal round of the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Finishing in a spectacular time of 9.84s, the 21-year-old punched his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In the finals, Hinchliffe will again be in contention with Shaun Maswanganyi, the reigning 100m and 200m champion. Maswanganyi is the current U20 100m National Indoor record holder representing South Africa. He qualified for both the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Olympics and in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships as well.

In 2024, Maswanganyi set the South African indoor record in the 200m, clocking 20.41s to lower the six-year-old record time of 20.45s (set by Ncincilili Titi).

Louie Hinchliffe on following Carl Lewis' advice

At the Penn Relays a month ago, Hinchcliffe shared the track with arch-rival Maswanganyi, only to get defeated by him in the 100m contest for the gold podium.

In the post-race interview, when he was asked whether the athletic duo wished to bring the most titles for the UH in Meet history, Hinchliffe nodded in affirmation. Moreover, when asked about coach Carl Lewis' message before the events, the 21-year-old said that his tutor wants them to run the races and focus on steering their individual boats.

"It was 'just run your own race'. That's a big thing for me I'd be looking around trying to catch people so it's just run my own race believe in myself and yeah just if I do what I do then it should be good," Hinchliffe said quoting Carl Lewis.

The 2024 NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Outdoor Championships is scheduled on June 5-8, at Hayward Field, Eugene Oregon.