IN THREE PREVIOUS appearances at the NCAA meet, Baylor’s Nathaniel Ezekiel had shown remarkable consistency: 4th in ’22, then 3rd the last two years. After a runner-up finish in the flat 400 at the indoor nationals in March, he was even more determined to get to the top step of the podium in his final collegiate race.
He made a strong statement towards that goal in the semifinals, clocking 47.86, breaking his own Nigerian Record (47.89 from the Big 12 Championships) and solidifying his hold on the No. 7 spot on the collegiate all-time list. He finished more than 2 seconds ahead of USC’s Johnny Brackins (50.14).
Nobody else even broke 49 in the prelims. SEC champ Saad Hinti (49.07) of Tennessee held off Texas’s Kody Blackwood (49.09) to take the second section, while Texas A&M’s Ja’Qualon Scott (49.18) bounced back from his earlier false start in the 110H semis to take the third race.
In the final, Ezekiel, in lane 6, went out hard, closing down the stagger on Hinti, one lane to his outside, by the fourth hurdle. Only Scott, in lane 5, was able to keep contact, and was a stride behind as they entered the homestretch. That gave Ezekiel a jolt. “After the guy from A&M was right behind me I was like, ‘No, bro, you are not getting this,’” he said with a laugh. “I knew I just had to pick it up and finish it up.”
Scott hit hurdle 9 but didn’t appear to lose much momentum. Still, he couldn’t close the gap.
Ezekiel accelerated off the final hurdle and finished in 47.49, moving up to No. 3 on the all-time list behind USC’s Rai Benjamin (47.02) and Texas Tech’s Caleb Dean (47.23). “The whole season I’ve been competing against myself, so this was the first time I was feeling the pressure behind me, which is good,” said Ezekiel, a semifinalist at the ’24 Olympics and ’22 and ’23 World Championships.
Scott wobbled slightly off the last hurdle but still notched a PR 48.29. The 0.80 margin of victory was the most at the meet since Benjamin won by 1.10 when he set the CR in ’18.
Also running a lifetime best was Blackwood (48.66), who finished 3rd. Texas Tech’s Oskar Elund (49.02) closed well to pass Hinti (49.11) on the run off the last barrier.
MEN’S 400 HURDLES RESULTS
FINAL (June 13)
1. Nathaniel Ezekiel’ (Bay-Ngr) 47.49 NR (CL) (3, 3 C);
2. Ja’Qualon Scott (TxAM) 48.29 PR;
3. *Kody Blackwood (Tx) 48.66 PR;
4. Oskar Edlund’ (TxT-Swe) 49.02;
5. ***Saad Hinti’ (Tn-Mor) 49.11;
6. Bryce McCray (TxAM) 49.52 PR;
7. Johnny Brackins (USC) 50.15;
8. **Bryce Tucker (Rut) 50.83;
9. Jarrett Gentles (Copp) 51.50.
SEMIS (June 11)
I–1. Ezekiel’ 47.86 NR (CL) (7, 7 C);
2. Brackins 50.14; 3. Tucker 50.14; 4. **Xzaviah Taylor (NCAT) 50.27; 5. *Mario Paul (TxT) 50.56; 6. Ja-Van Poole (Oakl) 50.74; 7. **Alex Sadikov (Penn) 52.50; 8. **Jayden Douglas (TCU) 54.16.
II–1. Hinti’ 49.07; 2. Blackwood 49.09; 3. McCray 49.56 PR; 4. Gentles 50.18; 5. **Hugo Menin’ (UTSA-Fra) 50.98; 6. Cameron Wilmington (GCan) 51.57; 7. Marcus Johnson (Bing) 52.57; 8. **Isaiah Taylor (NCAT) 55.63.
III–1. Scott 49.18; 2. Edlund’ 49.66; 3. **Jason Parrish (Wich) 50.24; 4. Noah Langford (How) 50.50; 5. **Ryan Matulonis (Penn) 50.75; 6. Harry Barton’ (Tn-GB) 50.82; 7. Alex Sherman (Va) 50.98; 8. *Tamaal Myers (UCLA) 51.24.
