Natural law is defined by the simplified concept of “opposites attract.” Positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons hold together the building blocks of physical matter in the universe. Humans require oxygen, while plants require carbon dioxide, and the two are dependent on the opposites’ products generated from their process of energy consumption.
Yet, any human being will tell you the key to forming relationships is to find common interests and then build off those interests to develop stronger bonds. What happens when nature’s decree of opposites and man’s rules of connecting over similarities are combined? Relationships grow beyond the human capacity to truly understand their strength and longevity.
Enter JuVaughn Harrison and Rayvon Grey.
The duo is revered at the top of the NCAA and lead a Men’s LSU Track & Field team that is currently ranked second in Division 1, according to the USTFCCCA. The two individuals came by different paths to arrive to this point today.
“It’s always been something that was done in my family,” Harrison a native of Huntsville, Alabama, said. “My mom did it. My dad did it. All of them did it, so track was just something that everybody did. As far as jumping, that was something I was good at, so I took the jumping route instead of doing running things.”
In true opposite fashion, Grey hails from Beacon, New York, which is a two-hour drive from Manhattan. He did not have the legacy in his family that grew his love for the sport.
“When I started doing track, no one really did it in my family,” Grey said. “Everyone played football in my family. One day, I just went out for the team, and I was actually pretty fast. They put me in a long jump competition, and I think I hit like 21 feet my first time ever. Kinda stuck with it ever since.”
The list of accolades built up since Harrison joined Grey at LSU in 2018 is impressive. The duo has combined for two First-Team All-SEC acknowledgements, five All-American acknowledgements, three SEC championships, and three NCAA championships. Harrison and Grey were the first duo from the same university to sweep the indoor (Grey) and outdoor (Harrison) long jump championships since 1972, per LSUSports.net.
When asked about their success last season, Grey showed his confidence in the team’s abilities and noted the skills of last season’s key pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who chose to forgo his college eligibility and begin competing professionally.
“Coming into the preseason, we knew what we could do, especially with Mondo,” Grey said. “I remember coming into the season and thinking, like, yeah, we could dominate in all the jumps: triple to long, pole vault, high.”
“I went out a little early indoors,” Harrison said. “I wanted to help contribute a little bit more points, but I mean, he (Grey) picked up the slack. Sometimes you have good me, and sometimes you don’t, and it’s good to have teammates there to pick up the slack.”
When outdoors came in, there was no shortage of good JuVaughn Harrison. He became the first male collegiate athlete to sweep the high jump and long jump championships in NCAA outdoor history and was awarded the 2019 USTFCCCA Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. He was also named a 2019 Bowerman Semifinalist, which is awarded to the top athletes in men and women’s track and field. This season, Harrison has been named to the Bowerman watch list yet again.
Harrison’s vision is on bigger dreams, however.
“I’ll take it as a good accomplishment because I did get on the Bowerman list last year, but I didn’t make it all the way through, so to be on the watch list for this season is a great accomplishment, but I’m not really focused on the Bowerman. That’s more of an after-season thing. I’m just focused on winning my rings and helping my team win. We have the potential to win nationals and potential to win SEC, so everybody just has to buckle down and do what they gotta do.”
Grey emphasized the biggest difference this year is even more spotlight on the veteran leaders, like Harrison and himself.
“I want to say pressure, but we really don’t feel pressure, in a sense. Now it’s, like, really focused on us.”
He acknowledged the losses of key scorers Duplantis and Jaron Flournoy, but he also highlighted how much the team has grown.
“Everyone’s a lot better than where they were last year. I’m really excited to see what we can do.”
Despite their differences, the two, roommates on the road, showed a visible bond, one that can be cultivated only through hours of time with each other and endless support. A bigger common attribute unites them beyond nature’s will to keep them as opposites: a passion to compete and to win.
“We’re like brothers.” Grey smiled. “When he first got here, I was his host brother. He came on the team, beat me one year, and I was like ‘Damn, the kid I hosted beat me?’ We’re real close, real competitive.”
Harrison, with a satisfied look to his brother, added, “But it’s always love.”
Yet, any human being will tell you the key to forming relationships is to find common interests and then build off those interests to develop stronger bonds. What happens when nature’s decree of opposites and man’s rules of connecting over similarities are combined? Relationships grow beyond the human capacity to truly understand their strength and longevity.
Enter JuVaughn Harrison and Rayvon Grey.
The duo is revered at the top of the NCAA and lead a Men’s LSU Track & Field team that is currently ranked second in Division 1, according to the USTFCCCA. The two individuals came by different paths to arrive to this point today.
“It’s always been something that was done in my family,” Harrison a native of Huntsville, Alabama, said. “My mom did it. My dad did it. All of them did it, so track was just something that everybody did. As far as jumping, that was something I was good at, so I took the jumping route instead of doing running things.”
In true opposite fashion, Grey hails from Beacon, New York, which is a two-hour drive from Manhattan. He did not have the legacy in his family that grew his love for the sport.
“When I started doing track, no one really did it in my family,” Grey said. “Everyone played football in my family. One day, I just went out for the team, and I was actually pretty fast. They put me in a long jump competition, and I think I hit like 21 feet my first time ever. Kinda stuck with it ever since.”
The list of accolades built up since Harrison joined Grey at LSU in 2018 is impressive. The duo has combined for two First-Team All-SEC acknowledgements, five All-American acknowledgements, three SEC championships, and three NCAA championships. Harrison and Grey were the first duo from the same university to sweep the indoor (Grey) and outdoor (Harrison) long jump championships since 1972, per LSUSports.net.
When asked about their success last season, Grey showed his confidence in the team’s abilities and noted the skills of last season’s key pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who chose to forgo his college eligibility and begin competing professionally.
“Coming into the preseason, we knew what we could do, especially with Mondo,” Grey said. “I remember coming into the season and thinking, like, yeah, we could dominate in all the jumps: triple to long, pole vault, high.”
“I went out a little early indoors,” Harrison said. “I wanted to help contribute a little bit more points, but I mean, he (Grey) picked up the slack. Sometimes you have good me, and sometimes you don’t, and it’s good to have teammates there to pick up the slack.”
When outdoors came in, there was no shortage of good JuVaughn Harrison. He became the first male collegiate athlete to sweep the high jump and long jump championships in NCAA outdoor history and was awarded the 2019 USTFCCCA Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year. He was also named a 2019 Bowerman Semifinalist, which is awarded to the top athletes in men and women’s track and field. This season, Harrison has been named to the Bowerman watch list yet again.
Harrison’s vision is on bigger dreams, however.
“I’ll take it as a good accomplishment because I did get on the Bowerman list last year, but I didn’t make it all the way through, so to be on the watch list for this season is a great accomplishment, but I’m not really focused on the Bowerman. That’s more of an after-season thing. I’m just focused on winning my rings and helping my team win. We have the potential to win nationals and potential to win SEC, so everybody just has to buckle down and do what they gotta do.”
Grey emphasized the biggest difference this year is even more spotlight on the veteran leaders, like Harrison and himself.
“I want to say pressure, but we really don’t feel pressure, in a sense. Now it’s, like, really focused on us.”
He acknowledged the losses of key scorers Duplantis and Jaron Flournoy, but he also highlighted how much the team has grown.
“Everyone’s a lot better than where they were last year. I’m really excited to see what we can do.”
Despite their differences, the two, roommates on the road, showed a visible bond, one that can be cultivated only through hours of time with each other and endless support. A bigger common attribute unites them beyond nature’s will to keep them as opposites: a passion to compete and to win.
“We’re like brothers.” Grey smiled. “When he first got here, I was his host brother. He came on the team, beat me one year, and I was like ‘Damn, the kid I hosted beat me?’ We’re real close, real competitive.”
Harrison, with a satisfied look to his brother, added, “But it’s always love.”
