Ackera Nugent joins Britton Wilson on Bowerman watch list

NEW ORLEANS – A pair of Razorbacks are among the 10 athletes named to the 2023 Bowerman watch list following the NCAA Indoor Championships as Ackera Nugent makes her debut to join teammate Britton Wilson.

Nugent is the 11th athlete in Arkansas women’s program history to be named to the watch list. Among women’s programs, only Oregon (17) and Texas A&M (15) have had more athletes named to the watch list.

Six of the 10 athletes on the Bowerman watch list are from SEC schools. Florida also has a pair in Talitha Diggs and Jasmine Moore along with Kentucky’s Masai Russell and Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin.

Others named to the Bowerman watch list include Julien Alfred of Texas, Katelyn Tuohy of NC State, Jorinde van Klinken of Oregon, and Roisin Willis of Stanford.

This indoor season has seen numerous collegiate records among the athletes on the women’s Bowerman watch list. During the NCAA Indoor meet, Wilson and Nugent each faced collegiate record holders in their respective events.

Nugent entered the meet with an Arkansas record of 7.81 and broke the 60m hurdles collegiate record in the semifinal, clocking a world-leading 7.72 to better the previous record of 7.75 set by Russell earlier in the season.

In addition, Nugent bettered the Jamaican record of 7.74 set by Michelle Freeman in 1998 as well as the NCAA meet record of 7.78 by Florida’s Grace Stark in 2022.

A 7.73 performance by Nugent in the final claimed the title over a 7.75 for Russell. It was the second NCAA title for Nugent, who claimed the 2021 title while at Baylor.

On the world all-time list, Nugent is now equal No. 5 with Lolo Jones, who posted her 7.72 in 2010. Nugent, who is just 0.04 away from the world record of 7.68 set by Sweden’s Susanna Kallur in 2008, is one of four hurdlers with at least two times among the top 12 performances all-time.

60m Hurdles | World Indoor All-Time List

Wilson’s indoor season started with a collegiate record in the 600m as her 1:25.16 effort broke the previous mark of 1:25.80 set by Athing Mu while at Texas A&M in 2021.

As Wilson raced in the 800m during the SEC Indoor, earning a silver medal, she watched Diggs break the American and collegiate 400m record with a 50.15 victory. Razorback Amber Anning broke Wilson’s Arkansas school record of 50.88 with a 50.68 performance in the SEC 400m.

During the NCAA Indoor 400m semifinal, Wilson nearly reclaimed the Arkansas school record with a 50.69 that led the field with Diggs second best at 50.79.

Occupying lane 5 in the final, with Diggs stationed in lane 6, Wilson trailed Diggs through 200m (23.17 to 23.56). On the second circuit of the track, Wilson passed Diggs on the backstretch and pulled away from the field through the curve. Wilson’s edge over Diggs on the second 200m of the race was 25.92 to 27.32.

With a drive to the finish line, Wilson became the first collegian to run under 50 seconds indoors. Her time of 49.48 became the American and collegian record while occupying the No. 2 position on the world all-time list.

The previous world record of 49.59 had lasted 41 years and within one month it was bettered twice this indoor season. Femke Bol of the Netherlands broke the world record with a 49.25 in February.

400m | World Indoor All-Time List

The previous fastest indoor split was 49.54 set by Mu in 2021.

The Razorbacks also demolished the collegiate record of 3:24.09 they set in 2022 as well as the NCAA Indoor meet record of 3:26.68 set by Texas A&M in 2021.

Arkansas also ran faster than the outdoor collegiate record of 3:21.93 set by Kentucky in 2022 while Wilson bettered the 400m outdoor collegiate record of 49.57 set by Mu in 2021, the year she won the Bowerman.