THE WORKOUT. Kaylyn Brown remembers it well. The Arkansas 400 crew was doing repeats on the track, and coach Chris Johnson had instructed them to run a 450, passing through the 400 in 52. “We came through in 51,” she says. “We looked at each other and we knew we had this. That’s when we know we were ready to roll.”
The process of building the greatest 400 squad in NCAA history took more than one practice session. It took the right mix of talent and personalities, and a year of the hardest work of their lives.
First, Johnson had to line up the talent in a process that took years. Already there was Nickisha Pryce, a JC transfer from Iowa Western who was in her final season for Arkansas. Last year she placed 3rd at the NCAA in 50.23, then ran third leg on the champion 4×4. Over the summer she had improved to 50.21 in winning the Jamaican Championships. She made it to the semis in Budapest and won silver on the 4×4 there.
Amber Anning: “Coach Johnson’s like, ‘You can never improve or make progress in an environment of comfortability.’”
Another Arkansas veteran was Rosey Effiong, in her third year on the squad. Last season she placed 4th in the NCAA at 50.77 after a PR 50.17 at the Regional. She placed 5th at the USATF, and later ran on the mixed 4×4 squad that won Budapest gold in a World Record 3:08.80.
Amber Anning, from Hove, England, initially came over to run for LSU, where she finished 5th in the NCAA Indoor in ‘21. She transferred to Arkansas for the ‘23 season, placing 6th in the Indoor after a PR 50.68 at the SEC but not making it out of Regionals outdoors. In Budapest, she ran second leg on the British bronze team, splitting 49.82.
Then there was Brown, the ultimate newcomer. Last year she ran 53.84 for Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, North Carolina, which landed her at No. 20 on the prep list. Her PR dated back to her junior year when she ran 53.11 for 3rd in the USATF Junior. Her introduction to world-class sprinting has been a dizzying crash course.
“As a freshman coming in, fall training was really tough,” she recalls. “And they really took me in and motivated me to keep pushing. They said, ‘You know, this is going to pay off in the end.’ And I really see what they were talking about. It’s paid off.”
There’s no denying that stepping onto the practice track for the first time can be a little scary, especially if that track is in Fayetteville and has hosted so many NCAA and Olympic greats. Says Brown, “Looking at the girls, I’m like, ‘Oooh, 52, 51…’ It was a little intimidating, but training with them, it was very chill.”
Effiong, who came in from DeSoto, Texas, with a PR of 53.89, says her introduction was similar. “I wasn’t that good in the 400 yet. It was like, ‘Oh, like these people are serious, the training is serious.’ It was a real shock to me, ‘cause it’s not like high school, you know, I can’t just easily go through it and just be good. You actually have to work here. So I would say that it was intimidating at first, but then it gets to like, your confidence gets built here. ‘OK, if they can do it, I can do it.’ Because they’re doing the same thing that I’m doing.”
Rosey Effiong: “Like, dang, I should’ve chosen basketball,” she says and laughs.”
“I don’t think I was intimidated,” says Anning, who was older when she joined. “I knew my talent and my capabilities and I knew that I had to be in an environment where there were going to be girls who could push me. I needed to have the Brits [Britton Wilson] and the Rosies, I needed people faster than me, so I can work off them and train hard with them in practice and I can get to where I need to be.”
Throughout the year, challenges arose. For Brown and Pryce, there were injury issues. “I’ve had a lot of hamstring injuries that people don’t know about, but I just bounced back,” says Brown.
Pryce notes, “I have a shin problem from last year and it never went away. I always run on it. Sometimes it makes me cry. I still push through.”
Effiong remembers some of the practices were so hard that at weak moments she would question her life choices. “Like, ‘Dang, I should’ve chosen basketbal,’” she says, and laughs. “People think running is so easy. I would say track & field to me is one of the hardest sports I’ve ever done. I did basketball and volleyball before, and it was never like this. The pain you feel, you have to be strong for this sport.
“I will remember that mental aspect of it all, because for me, I love doing like sprinting stuff, but when it comes to long runs and endurance, I really struggle mentally. So it’s like, ‘OK, this is going to happen. This is how the race will feel. It’s going to hurt, so I’ve got to push through.’”
Says Anning, “Coach Johnson’s like, ‘You can never improve or make progress in an environment of comfortability.’ And I think that was what I have gained over these last two years. Being able to just let go and be like, ‘Yeah, let’s try something different. Let’s go out here and attack this workout. Let’s just push myself beyond what I’ve done before and see where it takes me.’”
Nickisha Pryce: “I’m speechless. What I’ve learned is to believe in myself.”
The work paid off in Eugene. Their performances, covered amply elsewhere, bear repeating — 400: Pryce 48.98, Brown 49.13, Anning 49.59, Effiong 49.72, for the greatest sweep in NCAA history. Then 80 minutes later, the relay, in order: Anning 50.52, Effiong 49.21, Pryce 49.19, Brown 49.04, for a mind-blowing 3:17.96.
The relay record was expected by all, but 3:17.96? Says Anning, “When we ran it the first time [the CR at SECs], it wasn’t like we ran crazy crazy.”
Effiong chimes in, “I knew we were going to break it, but I didn’t know it was going to break by 4 seconds.”
“I don’t think we were ever going for it,” adds Anning, “even at Nationals. We just did what we needed to do and ran to the best of our ability. And we were fortunate enough that God gave us the talent to be able to go out there and get that record. But we were running for the title as well. A lot was on the line in that final race, but we just put trust in each other and seeing how we ran in individual, we knew that we’d be able to run a fast split on the relay and with that comes a fast time.”
Before the race, Johnson told his athletes that the relay would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With two or three of them moving on to pro careers, “This team will never be quite the same.”
Says Brown, “The tears were already shed for me. It’s been a long ride with these girls and I just got here. Just to make history, it means a lot to me and to see what we’ve done and how we put the hard work into this, it just means a lot. So I’m sad that they’re going to be gone, but you know, I’m always going to have them as training buddies.”
Effiong also takes solace in knowing they will continue training together, but adds, “It sets in, like, we’re not going to be in the same uniform. These are people that you train with, you love and everything. And the connection that we built is really strong. So I was like, ‘Dang, I can’t rely on her to have my back no more.’”
All four are now using the confidence they built in Eugene to prepare to make their bids for the Olympics. Says Brown, “I’m still processing what I’ve accomplished. It’s gone by so quick.”
Kaylyn Brown: “The tears were already shed for me. It’s been a long ride with these girls and I just got here. Just to make history, it means a lot to me.”
Pryce says she is ready for the Jamaican Trials, even while she is still blown away by what happened in Eugene. “I wanted to break the Jamaican Record so bad and then to finally do it, I’m speechless.” She adds, “What I’ve learned is to believe in myself.”
“I feel like it hasn’t sunk in yet,” says Anning. “We’re still trying to just take in the moment. I think I now kind of understand what we were able to do was just amazing. We accomplished so much in such a short period of time.”
Anning speaks for all of them when she adds, “Nothing’s given. Everything is earned. So I still need to go back home and perform.”
They all could have chosen easier routes in life. Effiong quips, “You know, I could be doing Pilates…”
“You don’t have to be doing Pilates,” Anning interjects.
“…and just enjoying life,” continues Effiong. “Go on holiday or vacation more often. I feel like we spend our summer here, every summer.”
She pauses to conclude, “Being an Arkansas runner is about sacrifice. But it’s worth it. It really is worth it when it pays off.”
