Arkansas
Arkansas’ Britton Wilson to turn pro
FAYETTEVILLE — The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that begin Wednesday in Austin, Texas, will be Arkansas sprinter and hurdler Britton Wilson’s last collegiate competition.
Wilson, a fourth-year junior, said she will turn pro after the NCAA meet.
It’s not a decision Wilson said she anticipated making with college eligibility remaining after transferring to Arkansas from Tennessee last year, but she has become a star with the Razorbacks while training with assistant coach Chris Johnson.
“I knew I’d be coming into a really great program in Arkansas and be working with a really great coach in Coach Johnson, but I never expected it to get me this far,” Wilson said. “It’s been happening really fast.”
Wilson is the NCAA leader in the 400 meters (a collegiate record 49.13 seconds) and 400-meter hurdles (53.23) and will run both events starting Thursday night at Texas’ Myers Stadium.
Last year she won the NCAA title in the 400 hurdles, finished second at the USA Championships and fifth at the World Championships. She also ran on the U.S. gold medal-winning 1,600-meter relay team at the World Championships.
Wilson, who is graduating from Arkansas in December with a communications degree, said she’ll continue to live and train in Fayetteville after turning pro.