FAYETTEVILLE -- Sprinters Amber Anning, Nickisha Pryce and Rosey Effiong scored 30 points in 30 minutes Saturday night at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston to help carry the University of Arkansas to the women's team title.
First the Razorbacks' senior trio took the top three spots in the 400 meters with Anning winning in 50.79 seconds followed by Pryce (51.00) and Effiong (51.03).
Running 30 minutes later in the 200, Effiong finished sixth (23.10), Pryce seventh (23.18) and Anning eighth (23.62).
Arkansas won the title with 55 points, including 24 in the 400 and 6 in the 200.
If Anning, Pryce and Effiong were a team by themselves, their 30 combined points would have tied Ole Miss for fifth place in the final standings.
"That just tells you the level of talent those young ladies bring to our team," Arkansas Coach Chris Johnson said. "They're special girls, special athletes."
Arkansas became the first women's program to have a 1-2-3 finish in the 400 at the NCAA Indoor meet.
The Razorbacks had a 2-3 finish in 2011 with Regina George and Shelise Williams and went 1-4-6 last year with Britton Wilson, Effiong and Anning.
"It's a really, really tough double," Johnson said of scoring so many points in the 400 and 200 at the NCAA meet with so little recovery time between races. "It's probably something most kids won't be able to accomplish.
"It's just really tough with the quick turnaround. It's not enough time.
"I think the NCAA should probably take a look at moving the 400 to the beginning of the program. That would give the kids enough time to do a natural double."
Anning, Pryce and Effiong overcame the scheduling challenge.
"They wanted it bad, and they were going to do whatever it took to get it done," Johnson said. "We were very, very fortunate to pull it off and get out of there healthy. They did a fantastic job.
"We knew we had to get every point we could, so we felt like doubling in the 400 and 200 was the best thing to do."
The six points in the 200 -- the final points scored by the Razorbacks -- turned out to be the winning margin for Arkansas because Florida finished second with 50 points.
Arkansas' 1,600 relay, anchored by Effiong, crossed the finish line first in the meet's last event and initially the Razorbacks were awarded 10 points to push their total to 65.
But the relay was disqualified, which put Arkansas back at a final total of 55.
Johnson said he protested the disqualification, but was told that on the leadoff leg during the second turn, freshman Kaylyn Brown twice stepped on a line on the inside of her lane.
The relay, which included junior Joanne Reid and sophomore Sanu Jallow in addition to Brown and Effiong, ran 3:25.99 to edge South Carolina.
It would have been the third consecutive year Arkansas won the relay.
Florida didn't have a team in the relay, so the Razorbacks' lead was secure before the race.
"We're grateful we already had the meet clinched, but it's disappointing for us not to win that event," Johnson said. "We take a lot of pride in the relay, and we were a little bit taken aback by the DQ.
"But that's sports and that's track and we have to live with the good as well as the bad sometimes."
The good for the Razorbacks on Saturday night started with redshirt junior Rachel Glenn winning the high jump.
Glenn, a transfer from South Carolina who missed last season because of a knee injury, cleared 6 feet, 6 3/4 inches to set a collegiate record and surpass the Olympic qualifying standard. She now ranks No. 3 on the United States' all-time list.
It was the second NCAA title for Glenn, who also won the high jump in 2021 as a freshman at South Carolina.
"We know the young lady is talented, and obviously she's a fantastic kid," Johnson said. "Her personality matches her talent. She's a fun girl to be around and super excitable and always upbeat.
"We knew she had that type of jump in her."
Arkansas senior Destiny Huven finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday night for five points.
The Razorbacks had two fourth-place finishes on Friday night from junior Nia Robinson in the long jump and the distance medley relay team of sophomore Mia Cochran, Reid, Jallow and junior Tiana LoStracco.
It was the fifth NCAA Indoor title for Arkansas, second in a row and first for Johnson as head coach.
Johnson, an assistant coach for 12 years, was promoted last summer to replace Lance Harter, who retired after leading the program for 33 years.
"It felt great to win," Johnson said. "I think the kids took a lot of pride in trying to get it done for myself and our entire staff as well."
Effiong ran 51.17 on her anchor leg of the 1,600 relay. The relay was 30 minutes after the 200, so Effiong ran in three races in an hour.
"Rosey has been around our program for a long time," Johnson said. "We knew she could do it. It was no surprise she ran that well.
"Rosey is going to do whatever we need for the team. She wanted to run and went out there and gave it her best effort."
Effiong won a gold medal at the World Championships last summer on the U.S. mixed 1,600 relay -- two women and two men -- while Pryce won a silver medal for Jamaica and Anning a bronze medal for Great Britain when both ran on the 1,600 relay.
So Anning, Pryce and Effiong have experience competing on the world stage as well as collegiately, which Johnson said helped them pull off the 400 and 200 double at the NCAA meet.
"Obviously it's physically challenging and taxing," Johnson said. "But it's also one of the toughest things mentally you have to do at the NCAA track meet, and fortunately our young ladies were ready for that."