Arkansas secures team title with stunning 3:17.96 effort in 1,600 relay
Razorbacks crush collegiate record after going 1-2-3-4 in women's 400 in NCAA Champs
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I’m not sure what was more impressive about the performances of the University of Arkansas’ 400-meter sprinters on the final day of the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.
The fact that Nickisha Pryce, Kaylyn Brown, Amber Anning, and Rosey Effiong all ran under 50 seconds in sweeping the first four places of the women’s 400 or the fact that the four of them came back about 80 minutes later to team up on a 1,600-meter relay squad that obliterated the previous collegiate record by nearly four seconds with a scintillating run of 3 minutes 17.96 seconds.
That time began with a 50.52 carry by Anning, a senior, and was followed by splits of 49.21 by junior Effiong, 49.19 by senior Pryce, and 49.04 by freshman Brown.
The performance crushed the previous collegiate outdoor record of 3:21.92 that the same Arkansas foursome — running in a different order — had set in the West Preliminary Round meet on its home track on May 25 and it was also quicker that the collegiate indoor record of 3:21.75 that a Britton Wilson-anchored Arkansas squad had run in winning the 2023 NCAA title.
Although the time is not a national record because the team was composed of two Americans in Brown and Effiong, a Brit in Anning, and a Jamaican in Pryce, the clocking was the 10th-fastest ever recorded and the quickest in the world since a U.S. team of Sydney McLaughlin, Allyson Felix, Daliah Muhammad, and Athing Mu clocked 3:16.85 in winning the Olympic title in 2021.
Perhaps most important to Arkansas coach Chris Johnson and the members of the relay team, the win gave the Razobacks their final 10 points in a meet in which they defeated second-place Florida, 63-59, for the team title.
Defending team champion Texas placed third with 41 points, followed by Oregon with 40½, and Mississippi with 38.
“It kind of started last year,” Johnson said when John Anderson of ESPN asked him about Arkansas’ heretofore unheard of depth in the women’s 400 this season. “Obviously as a freshman, we didn’t know [Kaylyn Brown] would go from 53 seconds to 49 seconds, but as time passed by, she kept getting better and better and better.
“I think it’s just a tribute to everyone who’s working with these young ladies, including myself, to get them to this point, to keep them healthy and fit, and execute at a tremendous meet like this. We fortunate and we’re blessed.”
Athletes from the Southeastern Conference won 11 of the 21 women’s events contested in this year’s NCAA meet and SEC performers were responsible for all four — yes, that’s correct, four! — of the collegiate records that were set on Saturday at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.
In addition to Arkansas’ record run in the 4 x 400 relay, Pryce set a collegiate and Jamaican record of 48.89 seconds in the 400, Doris Lemngole of Alabama ran 9:15.24 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Parker Valby of Florida clocked 14:52.18 in the 5,000 two days after she had set a meet record of 31:46.09 in the 10,000.
McKenzie Long of Mississippi fell just short of setting a collegiate record in the 200 meters, but no one accounted for more points in the meet than she did as she ran the second leg on the victorious 400 relay team that clocked 42.34 before winning the 100 in a wind-aided 10.82 and the 200 in a personal best of 21.83.
Valby’s victory in the 5,000, which gave her an unprecedented five individual NCAA titles in the current academic year, gave Florida a 59-53 lead over Arkansas heading into the 1,600 relay. And though the Razorbacks were overwhelming favorites to win that event and earn 10 points for their victory, Johnson was aware that nothing is ever guaranteed in a race in which a baton has to be passed between four teammates.
“Obviously, there’s always nerves,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we protect the stick. But we had a goal in mind coming in here to break the collegiate record again. We talked to the young ladies before we came out just to take care of the stick, but we knew we could get out there and run fast, and thanks to the crowd, and thanks to the fans, we got it done.”
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Arkansas had appeared capable of breaking 3:20 in the 1,600 relay after Pryce, Brown, and Anning had run 49.32, 49.47, and 49.51, respectively, in sweeping the first three places in the 400 in the SEC meet on May 11. But the Razorbacks’ chances of a sub-3:20 clocking seemed to improve on Saturday after Pryce, Brown, and Anning clocked 48.89, 49.13, and 49.59 in sweeping the first three places of the 400, and Effiong broke 50 for the first time with her 49.72 clocking in fourth.
Pryce’s time was the fastest in the world this year, moved her into a tie for 13th on the all-time performer list, and bettered the Jamaican record of 49.30 that was set by Lorraine Fenton in 2002.
Brown’s effort moved her into a tie for fifth on the all-time U.S. performer list and into a tie for second on the all-time collegiate list with Wilson, who had run 49.13 as an Arkansas junior last year before she signed a contract to compete professionally this year.
Although the combined 39 points that Arkansas scored in the 400 and 1,600 relay played a pivotal role in the Razorbacks winning their third outdoor title, and first since 2019, the team also picked up six points when Rachel Glenn placed third in the 400 hurdles in 54.11 seconds and added five more with a fourth-place time of 42.71 in the 400 relay.
They received eight more points when Destiny Huven placed fifth in the 100 hurdles in 12.85 and Laura Taborda did likewise in the steeplechase with a time of 9:35.67. Sanu Jallow’s sixth-place finish in the 800 — in 2:01.07 — gave Arkansas another three points and the Razorbacks previously tallied two points on Thursday when Sydney Thorvaldson placed seventh in the 10,000 in 32:57.29.
“This team is just well rounded, they competed tough,” Johnson said. “We knew what was the plan coming in. But to be able to go and execute that on this track and at this level of competition, hey, you can’t be any more happier.”
That didn’t mean it was a perfect meet for the Razorbacks as Glenn did not account for any points in the high jump when she tied for 13th at 1.82 meters (5 feet 11½ inches). She had equaled the collegiate indoor record of 2.00 (6-6¾) in winning the NCAA indoor title in March. And though she finished third in a very high-caliber final of the 400 hurdles, she had been the leading qualifier in the event after lowering her personal best to 53.80 in her semifinal on Thursday.
Glenn and defending champion Savannah Sutherland of Michigan were battling for the lead after the first three flights of barriers in the final before Sutherland led the race from the fourth through the ninth hurdles. But junior Jasmine Jones of USC was moving better that anyone entering the home straightaway and she passed Glenn just before the ninth hurdle and overtook Sutherland coming off the 10th barrier.
Her winning time of 53.15 helped her turn back Sutherland and her Canadian record of 53.26. It also bettered her previous best of 53.87 and moved her to second on the all-time collegiate list and to third on the yearly world list behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of the U.S. at 52.70 and Femke Bol of the Netherlands at 53.07.
That victory helped to lessen some of the sting from a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 100 hurdles earlier in the meet.
Jones ran a personal best of 12.64 in that event, but she had expected to run faster and place higher in the race in which Grace Stark of Florida clocking a winning 12.47, followed by Maribel Caicedo of Washington State in 12.56 and Rayniah Jones of Central Florida in 12.59.
“The start and keeping my arms close and tight in between the hurdles,” Stark said when she was asked about the keys to her victory in the 100 hurdles. “Coach talked a lot about the first three steps and to keep my head down and my arms tight and building composure.”
Long, who had finished second in the 200 in last year’s NCAA championships, said that maintaining her composure played a key role in her breakout performance in this year’s meet.
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She also said that running the second leg on the victorious 400 relay team in the first track event on Saturday put her in a good frame of mind for her two individual races.
“It was great,” she said when asked about the win in the 400 relay. “It definitely set up the whole day for me. So I’m truly thankful for that. And I’m thankful to have [my teammates] support me in my individual events as well.”
Brianna Lyston of LSU and Kalia Jackson of Georgia came out of the blocks better than anyone in the 100, but Long stayed patient and had taken control of the race with 30 meters remaining. Her wind-aided time of 10.82 left her well clear of second-place Lyston at 10.89 and third-place Rosemary Chukwuma of Texas Tech at 10.90.
“Just remain calm and just do what I’m really good at, which is my turnover,” Long said when asked about how she came from behind to win.
Long was in third place after the first 60 meters of the 200, but she had taken the lead entering the home straightaway and her advantage expanded substantially in the final 50 meters of the race as her 21.83-second clocking lowered her previous best of 21.97 that she set in her semifinal on Thursday. It also moved her to second on the all-time collegiate list behind the 21.80 time that Kentucky’s Abby Steiner ran to win the NCAA title in 2022.
In addition, Long’s time was the fastest in the world this year and moved her into a tie for 10th on the all-time U.S. performer list.
The top four finishers in the race all recorded personal bests as JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina finished second in 22.08, followed by Jadyn Mays of Oregon in 22.19 and Jayla Jamison of South Carolina in 22.26.
Ford, a freshman who won the NCAA indoor title in March, set a U.S. U20 (under 20) record with her effort.
Neither one of the collegiate records by freshman Lemngole and junior Valby came as shock , but it was interesting to see how each of them came about.
Lemngole and defending champion Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame engaged in a spirited duel in the steeplechase before the Kenyan broke away from Markezich after clearing the final water jump.
The two of them, who had finished second and third behind Valby in the NCAA cross country finals last November, were content to let Greta Karinauskaite of Cal Baptist lead for most of the first four laps of the race. But the first-place Lemngole and second-place Markezich had opened up a five-meter gap on the Lithuanian with three laps left in race.
Lemmgole had the smallest of leads over grad student Markezich after completing the fifth, sixth, and seventh laps, but she made a decisive move after clearing the seventh — and final — water jump before racing on to a 9:15.24 clocking that broke the previous collegiate record of 9:16.00 that had been set by Courtney Wayment of BYU in the 2022 NCAA meet.
Markezich finished second in 9:17.36 to shave a few tenths of a second from her personal best of 9:17.93 that she had run while placing fourth in last year’s USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships. Janice Schraft of Iowa State finished third in a personal best of 9:34.82.
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Although Valby won the 5,000 by nearly 18 seconds, Alabama junior Hilda Olemomoi ran close behind her for the first 3,500 meters before she began to lose ground to the defending champion.
Valby, as she often does, ran progressively faster as the race went on as her 1,600-meter split from the 200 to 1,800-meter mark was 4:48.84, followed by four-lap segments of 4:44.05 and 4:42.08 to close the race.
While her final time of 14:52.18 just missed the qualifying standard of 14:52.00 for the Olympic Games in Paris in August, it crushed the collegiate outdoor record of 15:03.12 set by Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State last year and it was also faster than the collegiate indoor record of 14:52.79 that Valby had set in the NCAA meet in March.
Olemomoi finished second in 15:10.04 and fast-closing Bailey Hertenstein of Colorado placed third in a personal best of 15:10.98.
Valby’s latest win gave her six individual NCAA titles during the last 12 months and it was not a surprise when she confirmed during a post-race interview that she expected it to be the final collegiate race of her career.
She said to “stay tuned for the future” before adding that it was “really bittersweet. Definitely was crying this morning.”
In other races contested on Saturday, Harvard junior Maia Ramsden won her second consecutive title in the 1,500 meters and Stanford sophomore Juliette Whittaker won her first outdoor championship in the 800 after taking the indoor crown in March.
Ramsden, who also won the mile in the indoor championships, ran behind first-place Lindsey Butler of Virginia Tech for the first 700 meters of the race. But the New Zealand record-holder took off with 700 meters remaining and was not seriously challenged for the lead after that as her time of 4:06.62 left her well clear of second-place Kimberly May of Providence in 4:08.07 and third-place Klaudia Kazimierska of Oregon in 4:08.22.
Whittaker led Stanford to a 1-2 finish in the 800 as she ran 1:59.61 and sophomore teammate Roisin Willis clocked 2:00.17.
The race itself played out in a somewhat surprising manner as defending champion Michaela Rose of LSU, who often leads from the front, dropped back early in the contest and Jallow of Arkansas led the field through 400 meters in 58.06 seconds.
Rose, who had lowered her personal best to 1:58.37 in April, led the field through 600 meters. But Whittaker was a close second and when she hit the accelerator entering the home straightaway, she quickly found herself in the lead as Rose was unable to respond to her move.
Willis, who had edged Whittaker for the NCAA indoor title in 2023, closed well to finish second and she was followed by Gabija Galvydyte of Oklahoma State in 2:00.23 and Rose in 2:01.03.
In the three field events held on Saturday, Rose Yeboah of Illinois and Elena Kulichenko of Georgia tied for first in the high jump at 1.97 (6-5½), Ackelia Smith of Texas won the triple jump at 14.52 (47-7 ¾), and Veronica Fraley of Vanderbilt took the discus with a best of 63.66 (208-10).
Juniors Yeboah and Kulichenko were both thrilled with their performances in the high jump as they each equaled the Olympic qualifying standard of 1.97.
In addition, Yeboah set a Ghanaian record with her performance.
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Freshman Temitope Adeshina of Texas Tech also cleared 1.97 while finishing third in the competition and her effort was a Nigerian record.
Lamara Distin of Texas A&M, the 2022 champion and the runner-up last year, was the early leader in the high jump after she had cleared 1.82 (5-11½) and 1.87 (6-1½) on her first two jumps. But Russian Kulichenko moved into the lead with a first-attempt clearance of 1.91 (6-3¼) before Yeboah took over first place by making 1.94 (6-4¼) on her initial try.
Kulichenko and Adeshina each cleared 1.94 on their third attempts, while Jamaican Distin missed three times and would finish in fourth place.
Yeboah, Kulichenko, and Adeshina each proceeded to clear personal bests of 1.97 (6-5½) on their third attempts before missing all three of their tries at 2.00 (6-6¾).
Yeboah and Kulichenko, who chose not to take part in a jump-off to determine the winner of the event, tied for first place ahead of Adeshina because they had fewer misses (eight) during the competition than did Adeshina, who had nine.
Smith dominated the triple jump after winning her second consecutive title in the long jump on Thursday.
In addition to posting her top mark of 14.52 (47-4¾) in the fourth round, the junior from Jamaica also jumped 14.50 (47-7) on her sixth attempt and 14.13 (46-4¼) on her first.
Darja Sopova of Illinois placed second at 14.01 (45-11¼) and Emilia Sjostrand of San Jose State finished third at 13.87 (45-6¼).
Senior Fraley was in fourth place after the first three rounds of the discus with a best of 60.17 (197-5), but she vaulted into the lead with a throw of 63.66 (208-10) in the fourth round and also recorded a mark of 62.65 (205-6) on her fifth attempt.
Jayden Ulrich of Louisville placed second at 63.05 (206-10) and Alida van Daalen of Florida finished third at 62.44 (204-10).
The heptathlon was won by senior Timara Chapman of Texas A&M, who totaled a personal best of 6,339 points while finishing ahead of second-place Jadin O’Brien of Notre Dame at 6,234 and third-place Kristine Blazevica of Texas at 6,126.
Chapman, a transfer from North Carolina State, began Saturday with a 87-point advantage over second-place Jenelle Rogers of Louisville after totaling 3,794 points in the first four events on Friday.
She extended her lead to 108 points over second-place O’Brien after leaping 6.32 (20-9) in the long jump and pushed her advantage to 116 points after throwing the javelin 42.53 (139-6).
O’Brien made up 11 points on Chapman when she ran the 800 meters in 2:15.09 in the heptathlon’s final event, but Chapman earned 880 points for her 2:15.92 clocking and finished comfortably in front of the indoor pentathlon champion.
This year’s NCAA meet was the first of four consecutive national championships scheduled to be held at Hayward Field.
Next year’s competition is slated for June 11-14.