Three former Arkansas Razorbacks athletes won gold medals at national championships over the weekend. Sandi Morris claimed her fifth USATF Outdoor pole vault title, Amber Anning defended her British 400m crown, and LaQuan Nairn took first place in the Bahamas long jump competition.
At the USATF & Para National Championships held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Arkansas alumni collected a total of eight medals: four golds, three silvers, and one bronze. Professional athletes training in Fayetteville also contributed with a gold and silver in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Morris secured her pole vault victory with a season-best clearance of 15-10 (4.83 meters), marking her first USATF Outdoor title since 2022. She attempted but missed three times at 16-1.75 (4.92 meters). Katie Moon finished second and Amanda Moll placed third, both clearing 15-6.25 (4.73 meters).
Morris made her sixth World Outdoor Championship team following this result. She has previously earned three silver medals at these events—in London (2017), Doha (2019), and Eugene (2022). Her latest clearance is her second best ever at the USATF Outdoor meet.
In Birmingham, England, Anning won the British 400m final with a time of 50.53 seconds—just short of the championship record she set last year at 50.47 seconds. Victoria Ohuruogu finished second in 50.79 seconds; Yemi Mary John was third with 50.84 seconds; Nicole Yeargin took fourth in 51.75 seconds.
LaQuan Nairn topped the long jump field at the Bahamas Championships with a wind-aided leap of 25-5 (7.77 meters) on a +2.1 m/s wind reading.
Other notable performances included Razorback Funminiyi Olajide finishing fourth in the UK Athletics long jump with a windy mark of 20-5.25 (6.23 meters). Jordan West reached eighth place overall in shot put after reaching the final round with a throw of 64-11.25 (19.79 meters). In preliminary heats for the men’s 200m dash, Dapriest Hogans ran a time of 20.72 seconds to rank fourteenth overall while Lance Lang was sixteenth with his time of 20.92 seconds.
Dalilah Muhammad won the women’s 400m hurdles event in Eugene with a time of 52.65 seconds; Anna Cockrell followed as runner-up at 52.89 seconds.
Brittany Brown narrowly missed out on third place in the women’s 200m—finishing fourth by just one-thousandth of a second as she and Gabby Thomas both posted times of 22.20 seconds; McKenzie Long came fifth.
Arkansas alumni medalists from national championships over the weekend include:
Gold:
Nikki Hiltz – Women’s 1,500m
Sandi Morris – Pole Vault
Amber Anning – Women’s UK Athletics’ 400m
LaQuan Nairn – Men’s Long Jump | Bahamas Championships
Hunter Woodhall – Men’s Para National Championships’ 100m & 400m
Silver:
Chris Bailey – Men’s 400m
Taliyah Brooks – Heptathlon
Isabella Whittaker – Women’s 400m
Bronze:
Jarrion Lawson – Men’s Long Jump
“Razorback Funminiyi Olajide finished fourth in the UK Athletics long jump,” according to event results.
