South Central Region honors for Nickisha Pryce, Chris Johnson
FAYETTEVILLE – South Central Region honors for the 2024 outdoor track and field season included Razorback sprinter Nickisha Pryce being named Track Athlete of the Year with first-year Arkansas women’s head coach Chris Johnson receiving Coach of the Year.
Pryce, a senior from St. Mary, Jamaica, entered the outdoor season with a 400m best of 50.21 and improved to a collegiate and Jamaican record of 48.89 in winning the NCAA 400m title while leading an Arkansas 1-2-3-4 super sweep for 29 team points.
The progression of career best marks for Pryce during this outdoor season included times of 50.13 – 49.72 – 49.32 – 48.89.
With Arkansas scoring 61 of its 63 title team points on the final day of the NCAA Championships, Coach Johnson and the Razorbacks were able to complete a sweep of NCAA Indoor and Outdoor team championships in his first season as head coach.
Arkansas scored in eight different events in capturing the title by four points over Florida, who were runner-up to the Razorbacks by five points at the NCAA Indoor meet.
Following the 29-point output from the NCAA 400m final, in which the total time of the four Razorbacks added up to 3:17.33, Arkansas secured the outdoor team title with an emphatic victory in the 4 x 400m relay with a collegiate record and world-leading time of 3:17.96 as Pryce supplied a third leg split of 49.19.
Arkansas set the previous collegiate record in the relay by 0.01 with a 3:21.92 effort in the NCAA West meet hosted by the Razorbacks. Kentucky held the previous record of 3:21.93 from the 2022 SEC meet.
Pryce became the first collegian and first Jamaican to run under 49 seconds. She bettered a 22-year-old Jamaican record of 49.30 set in 2002 by Lorraine Fenton. The previous collegiate record of 49.13 was set by Razorback Britton Wilson in 2023.
On the 2024 world list, Pryce ranks No. 2 behind a 48.75 by professional Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone set one day after the NCAA meet.. All-time, Pryce is equal 13th on the world list with Mexico’s Ana Guevara from 2003.
Pryce also won the SEC 400m title in 49.32, which ranked No. 3 on the collegiate all-time list at the time, while leading an Arkansas 1-2-3-5 finish for 28 conference points.
