Domination: Arkansas Women, McKenzie Long Steal the Show at NCAAs
Arkansas sweeps 400, obliterates 4x4 record, Long gets sprint triple
By LetsRun.com
True brilliance was on display at the final day of the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., as fans were treated to supernova performances by the Arkansas Razorback women and Ole Miss’s McKenzie Long.
Long got the party started by running the second leg for Ole Miss in the 4×100 and opening up a big lead as they cruised to the win in 42.34. She kept it rolling by blasting a wind-aided 10.82 (2.2 m/s) victory in the 100m. She wasn’t done yet, but it was time for the Arkansas women to take center stage in the women’s 400.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Razorbacks, led by senior Nickisha Pryce, who got the win in an NCAA record 48.89, then did something that had never been done in any NCAA event ever for men or women: sweep the top four places. Teammates Kaylyn Brown (49.13), Amber Anning (49.59), and Rosey Effiong (49.72) rounded out the top 4.
It was then Long’s turn to shine, as she dominated the 200 with a world-leading 21.83 victory, improving on her 21.95 world leader from the semifinals. Long now ranks #2 in NCAA history behind only Abby Steiner‘s 21.80 for Kentucky in 2022.
Long made the 4×100, 100, 200 triple look easy, but behind the scenes all year she has been dealing with the death of her mother, who died during the indoor season.
“Everything, I do for her…This year was so hard for me guys, I’m so blessed to be here,” she told ESPN’s John Anderson.
Then it was the Arkansas’ women’s turn in the final event of the afternoon, the 4×400 relay. Needing a third-place finish to win the NCAA team title over Florida, the Razorback women did way better. The quartet that swept the 400 lined up as a team and ran 3:17.96 (Anning 50.52, Effiong 49.21, Pryce 49.20, Brown 49.05) to obliterate their old NCAA record (3:21.92) by nearly four seconds.
Arkansas were rightfully the NCAA champions with 63 points to Florida’s 59.
We go into more detail on the races below with video and results.
Women’s 4×100: Ole Miss wins first-ever 4×100 as Long gets win #1
It was all Rebels in the 4×100, running 42.34 for the win. After a strong second leg from McKenzie Long, the Rebels were able to maintain their lead and run away with gold, besting LSU and South Carolina.
| Pl | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | OLE MISS Ole Miss | 42.34 |
| 2 |  | LSU LSU | 42.57 |
| 3 |  | SOUTH CAROLINA South Carolina | 42.63 |
| 4 |  | ARKANSAS Arkansas | 42.71 |
| 5 |  | TEXAS TECH Texas Tech | 42.87 |
| 6 |  | BAYLOR Baylor | 42.98 |
| 7 |  | TEXAS Texas | 43.06 |
| 8 |  | OREGON Oregon | 43.11 |
| 9 |  | CLEMSON Clemson | 43.38 |
Women’s 100: McKenzie Long’s 10.82 gets NCAA title #2 on day
Embed from Getty ImagesThere were no interruptions for McKenzie Long in her quest for the 100/200 double as she gathered steam over the final 50 meters to claim the national title, running 10.82 in the process (+2.2w).
Despite an illegal wind reading, four women broke 11 seconds including Brianna Lyston (10.89), Rosemary Chukwuma (10.92), and Jadyn Mays (10.95).
| Pl | Athlete | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | McKenzie LONG Ole Miss [SR] | 10.82 |
| 2 | | Brianna LYSTON LSU [SO] | 10.89 |
| 3 | | Rosemary CHUKWUMA Texas Tech [SR] | 10.90 |
| 4 | | Jadyn MAYS Oregon [SR] | 10.95 |
| 5 |  | Kaila JACKSON Georgia [SO] | 11.00 |
| 6 | | Thelma DAVIES LSU [SR] | 11.04 |
| 7 |  | Leah BERTRAND Ohio State [JR] | 11.05 |
| 8 | | Tima GODBLESS LSU [FR] | 11.10 |
| 9 |  | Iyana GRAY TCU [JR] | 11.28 |
Women’s 400: Arkansas women complete the super sweep
Embed from Getty ImagesHaving four women in the final was impressive enough, but the Arkansas women sweeping this event was unprecedented. Nickisha Pryce lead the Razorbacks with her 48.89 victory, the first sub-49 clocking in NCAA history, and she knew it as the finish as she did a double take when she saw the time.
Pryce’s time also smashed Lorraine Fenton‘s 22-year-old Jamaican record of 49.20 and makes her the 2024 world leader with the Olympics two months away. In the current Olympic cycle, world champ Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (48.76) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (48.74) are the only other women to run under 49.
Her teammates Kaylyn Brown (49.13), Amber Anning (49.59), and Rosey Effiong (49.72) were soon across the line to make history. Brown’s time would have tied the previous NCAA record and was the latest step in a year of improvement for the 19-year-old true freshman. Brown came to Fayetteville last fall with a high school personal best of 53.11 and has chopped nearly four seconds off in 12 months. She and Effiong rank 1-2 in the United States in 2024.
The crazy thing is the previous NCAA record also belonged to a former Razorback, Britton Wilson, who ran 49.13 last year. Arkansas is definitely 400m U.
| Pl | Athlete | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Nickisha PRYCE Arkansas [SR] | 48.89 | PB CL MR CR |
| 2 | | Kaylyn BROWN Arkansas [FR] | 49.13 | PB |
| 3 | | Amber ANNING Arkansas [SR] | 49.59 | |
| 4 | | Rosey EFFIONG Arkansas [JR] | 49.72 | PB |
| 5 |  | Isabella WHITTAKER Penn [SR] | 50.17 | PB |
| 6 | | Ella ONOJUVWEVWO LSU [SO] | 50.72 | |
| 7 |  | Jan’Taijah JONES USC [SR] | 50.77 | SB |
| 8 |  | Brianna WHITE Tennessee [SR] | 50.79 | |
| 9 |  | Jessica MCDOWELL Illinois [JR] | 51.35 |
Women’s 200: McKenzie Long completes the triple
McKenzie Long extended her world lead, running 21.83 to win her second individual national title of the afternoon and complete the triple crown (4×100, 100, 200).
Off the turn, it was South Carolina’s JaMeesia Ford, Long, and Oregon’s Jadyn Mays running three abreast but Long powered away down the homestretch to win in convincing fashion. Her 21.83 clocking is good for #2 in NCAA history (wind-legal).
Ford, the freshman phenom, claimed second place, running 22.08.
Long’s performances on the track stand for themselves, but putting them together the same year her mother died is remarkable. (Video below shows her embracing her dad after race and talking about her mom).
| Athlete | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| McKenzie LONG Ole Miss [SR] | 21.83 | PB CL |
| JaMeesia FORD South Carolina [FR] | 22.08 | PB |
| Jadyn MAYS Oregon [SR] | 22.19 | PB |
| Jayla JAMISON South Carolina [JR] | 22.26 | PB |
| Jassani CARTER USC [SO] | 22.66 | |
| Kaila JACKSON Georgia [SO] | 22.68 | |
 | Dajaz DEFRAND Florida State [SO] | 22.72 | |
| Tima GODBLESS LSU [FR] | 22.87 | |
| Dennisha PAGE Tennessee [SR] | 23.28 |
Women’s 4×400: Arkansas clenches the team and relay title
Arkansas needed to finish 3rd or better to win the NCAA team title, so they trotted out the quartet that swept the top 4 places in the 400, Amber Anning, Rosey Effiong, Nickisha Pryce, and Kaylyn Brown.
From the first handoff, it was no competition.
Amber Anning split 50.52 and the Razorbacks were off to the races. After two legs they were 1.03 seconds ahead of second place and would only extend it as they would ultimately run 3:17.96 and win the race by 5.36 seconds.
3:17.96 is a time that would’ve placed second at the Tokyo Olympics, only behind the United States. The Razorback women bested their own collegiate record by a monstrous 3.79 seconds. The splits for the record-breaking Razorbacks were Anning 50.52, Effiong 49.21, Pryce 49.20, and Brown 49.05.
| Pl | Team | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | ARKANSAS Arkansas | 3:17.96 | SB CL MR CR |
| 2 | | TENNESSEE Tennessee | 3:23.32 | SB |
| 3 | | TEXAS Texas | 3:23.68 | SB |
| 4 | | GEORGIA Georgia | 3:24.26 | SB |
| 5 |  | HOUSTON Houston | 3:24.73 | SB |
| 6 | | SOUTH CAROLINA South Carolina | 3:24.86 | SB |
| 7 | | OREGON Oregon | 3:25.82 | SB |
| 8 |  | TEXAS A&M Texas A&M | 3:25.89 | SB |
| 9 | | LSU LSU | 3:32.38 |
What a first year for Arkansas coach Chris Johnson
This was the first year Chris Johnson was the head coach at Arkansas after he took over for Lance Harter. Johnson wasted no time in establishing Arkansas as the 400m capital of the sprinting world. The crazy thing is that as good as Arkansas was at 400 this year, last year they had Britton Wilson setting the NCAA record in the 400 outdoors and running an American record indoors under Johnson as an assistant coach. They raised the bar with her gone, which is amazing.
We recap the hurdle action below
Women’s 400H: Jones reels in Sutherland
USC’s Jasmine Jones used a strong last 100 meters to move from third to first and reel in Michigan’s Savannah Sutherland and claim the NCAA title, running 53.15 (#3 in the world).
Sutherland, the defending champion ran 53.26–a new personal best and #4 in the world this year.
| Pl | Athlete | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Jasmine JONES USC [JR] | 53.15 | PB CL MR |
| 2 |  | Savannah SUTHERLAND Michigan [JR] | 53.26 | PB |
| 3 | | Rachel GLENN Arkansas [JR] | 54.11 | |
| 4 | | Akala GARRETT Texas [FR] | 54.84 | |
| 5 | | Sydni TOWNSEND Houston [SR] | 55.01 | |
| 6 | | Shana GREBO Oregon [JR] | 55.30 | PB |
| 7 | | Gabrielle MATTHEWS Ole Miss [SO] | 55.33 | |
| 8 |  | Abbey GLYNN Colorado [SR] | 55.75 | |
| 9 | | Shani’a BELLAMY LSU [SR] | 55.78 |
Women’s 100H: Stark gets her gold
Florida’s Grace Stark jumped out to an early lead and never relented. Despite strong challenges from the likes of USC’s Jasmine Jones and Maribel Caicedo of Washington State, Stark held strong for the win, running 12.47 en route to her first-ever outdoor national title.
Caicedo, who has been competing collegiately since the 2019 indoor season, finished second in her first-ever national championship final. Jasmine Jones, who was attempting to complete the 100mH/400mH double, settled for fourth place, clocking 12.64.
| Pl | Athlete | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Grace STARK Florida [SR] | 12.47 | PB CL |
| 2 |  | Maribel CAICEDO Washington St. [SR] | 12.56 | |
| 3 |  | Rayniah JONES UCF [SR] | 12.59 | PB |
| 4 | | Jasmine JONES USC [JR] | 12.64 | PB |
| 5 | | Destiny HUVEN Arkansas [SR] | 12.85 | |
| 6 | | Aasia LAURENCIN Michigan [SR] | 12.86 | |
| 7 | | Micaela DE MELLO Washington St. [JR] | 12.92 | |
| 8 | | Jalaysiya SMITH USC [JR] | 12.96 | |
| Alexandra WEBSTER Florida State [SR] | DNF |
Talk about the meet on our world-famous fan forum / mesasgeboard.
- Unofficial 2024 NCAA Outdoors day 4 discussion thread
- VALBY 14:52.18
- Thank You Parker for the Most Dominant Display of Excellence All Year
- Parker Valby will never win a National title This thread from November 2022 didn’t age well.
- Nickisha Pryce suspicious improvements
- How would Vin Lananna do with a high altitude program?
- NC State transfers TANK senior year
- Can Arkansas women 4×4 get into all time Top Ten?
- Why is Parker Valby so unconcerned about Olympic standards and rankings?
