Ezekiel

Ajayi returned to the track for the men’s 4x100m relay and again delivered in grand fashion.

Anchoring Auburn’s sprint quartet, he helped the defending champions to a staggering time of 37.97s, which not only secured top spot overall in the semifinals but also tied the NCAA Championship meet record and became the third-fastest time in collegiate history.

The team of Azeem Fahmi, Ajayi, Dario Matau and Makanakaishe Charamba now eye an NCAA title defence, and potentially, the all-time collegiate record in Friday’s final.

In contrast, John Clifford of Cal State Fullerton, the other Nigerian in the event, saw his team finish sixth in their heat with 39.48s and miss out on the final.

Another impressive Nigerian performance came from Samuel Ogazi of the University of Alabama, who looked effortless as he cruised to victory in the men’s 400m semifinal, clocking 44.77s, the fastest across all three heats.

Ogazi displayed a strong back-end finish to open a commanding gap on the field, confirming his status as one of the event favourites.

Although Ogazi remains a strong individual contender, he also anchored Alabama’s 4x400m relay team, along with Donald Chiyangwa, Peter Diebold and Oussama El Bouchayby, to a time of 3:03.58s, grabbing a place in the final.

Penn State’s James Onwuka also contributed to relay success, with his team clocking 3:03.39s in the men’s 4x400m semis to reach the final.

However, Edidiong Udo’s Ohio State team, despite posting a respectable 3:04.61s, fell short of qualification.

Udo also suffered disappointment in the individual 400m, where he was disqualified for lane infringement.

In the men’s long jump final, Charles Godfred of the University of Minnesota narrowly missed out on a podium finish, placing fourth with a leap of 7.91m.

It was nonetheless an improvement from last season, when he finished sixth. The event was won by Florida’s Malcolm Clemons, who jumped 8.04m.

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