Wilson clocks 49.40 seconds in qualifying heat, Armstrong runs wind-aided 12.31 seconds in prelim race; Garland adds No. 2 all-time collegiate decathlon performance to resume, Moore repeats in long jump to secure 10th career conference crown, with Fassold, Pinnock and West also defending titles

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Jamison Michael

BATON ROUGE, La. – There were the strength-in-numbers showcases that teams contending for Southeastern Conference Championships have been known to produce, as well as the singular, spectacular moments that come as no surprise, even in a qualifying heat, at the most demanding and decorated college meet anywhere in May.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | DAY 2 PHOTOS

On the same day Arkansas had four female pole vaulters accumulate 25 points and a quartet of Razorbacks men’s long jumpers combine for 21 points, the program also celebrated another exceptional effort Friday from junior Britton Wilson, who lowered her own collegiate record in the women’s 400 meters to 49.40 seconds at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track and Field Stadium.

Wilson, one of four Arkansas athletes to advance to the 400 final Saturday, wasn’t alone in achieving collegiate history, with LSU junior Alia Armstrong running a wind-aided 12.31 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles prelims, the best all-conditions performance all-time by an NCAA athlete.

Armstrong, who was supported by a +2.2 meters per second wind, had run a wind-aided 12.33 (+2.5 m/s) last year at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.

Kentucky’s Masai Russell, the collegiate record holder with a wind-legal 12.36 effort April 1 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, also qualified for Saturday’s final with a wind-aided 12.47 performance in her prelim heat.

Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, the collegiate indoor record holder in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.72 seconds, also advanced to Saturday’s 100 hurdles championship race with a wind-aided 12.49 effort.

Nugent will look to build on the collective performance of Amanda Fassold, Mackenzie Hayward, Marin Chamberlain and Kaitlyn Banas in the pole vault final, as all four Arkansas athletes placed in the top five.

Fassold repeated as champion with a first-attempt clearance at 14-3.25 (4.35m), giving the Razorbacks three consecutive titles and eight in the past nine years.

Texas A&M’s Heather Abadie, representing Canada, produced a personal-best 14-3.25 clearance on her first try to place second, with Hayward clearing the height on her third attempt to also achieve a lifetime-best effort.

Arkansas capped the night with Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod, Ryan Brown and Shakwon Coke all placing in the top eight in the men’s long jump final.

Pinnock, representing Jamaica, repeated as champion with a lifetime-best 27-5.50 (8.37m) in the second round to equal the No. 11 outdoor competitor in collegiate history, following his victory representing Tennessee last year.

McLeod, another Jamaican standout and the 2021 conference champion competing for Tennessee, placed second Friday with a second-round effort of 26-8.50 (8.14m).

Georgia’s Kyle Garland, already the collegiate record holder in the decathlon with 8,720 points last year at the USATF Combined Events Championships, won his second conference title in three years with the No. 2 all-time NCAA performance of 8,589 points.

Garland, who won the first eight events of the two-day competition, produced a lifetime-best 47.89 seconds in the 400 meters.

Arkansas’ Marcus Weaver placed second with 7,910 points and Mississippi State’s Peyton Bair took third with 7,903 points, both personal-best performances.

Vanderbilt’s Beatrice Juskeviciute, representing Lithuania, won the women’s heptathlon championship with a lifetime-best 6,079 points, highlighted by a personal-best 19-9.50 (6.03m) in the long jump.

Juskeviciute, the third heptathlon winner in program history, captured the first conference title by a Vanderbilt female athlete in any event since 2019. She also became the fourth female competitor in the SEC to surpass the 6,000-point barrier at the conference championship meet.

Texas A&M’s Joniar Thomas, representing Grenada, placed second with a lifetime-best 5,941 points and Florida’s Sterling Lester – last year’s champion – took third with a personal-best 5,778 points.

Jordan West, teammates with McLeod and Pinnock last year at Tennessee, repeated as men’s shot put champion, this time for Arkansas, becoming the first male athlete to capture the crown for the Razorbacks since 2000.

West achieved a personal-best 67-6 (20.57m) in the fourth round, holding off LSU’s John Meyer at 67-3.25 (20.50m) and Kentucky’s Josh Sobota at 67 feet (20.42m).

West became the first repeat shot put winner since Georgia’s Denzel Comenentia secured three consecutive victories from 2017-19. He also joined Pinnock in becoming the first male athlete in conference history to win his event in back-to-back years for different teams.

Alida Van Daalen, a Florida freshman representing the Netherlands, achieved a sweep of the conference indoor and outdoor women’s shot put titles with a second-round effort of 59-3.50 (18.07m).

Van Daalen became the first female competitor to win both shot put crowns since Tennessee’s Latavia Maines in 2021, in addition to achieving the first sweep for the Gators since Mariam Kevkhishvili captured both titles in 2009 and 2010.

Jasmine Moore added another championship for the Gators, producing a wind-legal best of 22-7 (6.88m) in the sixth round to secure back-to-back crowns, increasing her career conference total to 10 titles.

Moore, who achieved a wind-aided 22-11 (6.98m) performance April 14 at home at the Tom Jones Memorial event, equaled the No. 9 wind-legal competitor in collegiate history.

Kentucky freshman Anthaya Charlton, representing the Bahamas, placed second with a wind-legal 22-1.50 (6.74m) performance in the sixth round and Florida’s Claire Bryant took third with a final-round mark of 21-11 (6.68m).

Texas A&M took the top two spots in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase final, with Franky Romano becoming the first conference champion for the Aggies since 2013 with a personal-best 8:54.79 and teammate Teddy Radtke finishing second in 8:55.61.

Kristel van den Berg, another Dutch athlete, won the women’s 3,000 steeplechase championship for Ole Miss with a program-record 9:56.56, securing the first title in the event for the Rebels since 2018.

Missouri senior Roberto Vilches, representing Mexico, became the first male athlete in program history to win the outdoor high jump crown with a first-attempt clearance at 7-3 (2.21m).

Vilches also won the conference indoor championship for the Tigers last year.