Britton Wilson runs world-leading 53.23 in 400m hurdles season debut

GAINESVILLE – Racing in her first 400m hurdles race of the season, Razorback Britton Wilson produced a world-leading time of 53.23 seconds in a victory at Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial on Friday evening.

Although her career best is 53.08 from 2022, that time occurred after the collegiate season when Wilson finished as the silver medalist at the USATF Championships during the summer.

So, her 53.23 registers as the No. 3 performer and performance on the all-time collegiate list and it’s the fastest time by a collegian in the month of April. The previous best mark in April by a collegian was 53.60 by Kentucky’s Sydney McLaughlin from 2018.

On the all-time collegiate list, Wilson is third behind a 52.75 by McLaughlin as well as a 53.21 from Stanford’s Kori Carter. Wilson moves ahead of training partner Shamier Little, who clocked a 53.51 best in college with Texas A&M.

In the race with Wilson, who broke the 400m American and collegiate record indoors with a 49.48, were Anna Hall and Masai Russell. Hall, an American record holder in the pentathlon, finished second in 54.48 while Russell, who broke the collegiate record in the 100m hurdles during the Texas Relays, placed third in 55.39.

The world-leading time for 2023 heading into this weekend was 54.82 by South Africa’s Zeney Van Der Walt during the South African Championships held on April 1.

Racing in another section of the 400m hurdles, Madison Langley-Walker posted a career best of 57.39, placing fifth in the section and 16th overall. Langley-Walker’s previous best was 57.40 set in 2021 at the NCAA West Preliminary rounds held in College Station.

Arkansas also had stellar marks in the 200m with Rosey Effiong leading the crew with a career best of 22.91, which moves her to No. 6 on the UA all-time list. Ackera Nugent, the collegiate record holder in the 60m hurdles indoors, posted a career best best of 23.10, and is No. 9 on the UA all-time list.

A Razorback debut for Mekenze Kelley resulted in a wind-aided 23.14 (3.6 wind), while Joanne Reid registered an outdoor career best of 23.24, which ranks her No. 12 on the UA all-time list. Following were Ashanti Denton (23.87) and Ariane Linton (23.99).

Wilson is schedule to race over 400m without hurdles on Saturday. She is in the first section along with teammates Amber Anning and Effiong. They are joined by the Texas tandem of Rhasidat Adeleke and Kennedy Simon. Also racing in the 400m are Kelley, Reid, Paris Peoples, Nickisha Pryce, Aaliyah Pyatt, and Denton.