NCAA Men’s 400 — Key Event For The Gators

BY THE TIME 8 runners lined up for the 1-lap final, no fewer than 5 sub-45 quartermilers had already fallen by the wayside, a testament to the constantly remarkable depth in the event in American colleges:

•Johnnie Blockburger, USC 44.71, Pac-12 runner-up, unable to run at Regionals;

•Zarik Brown, Oklahoma 44.61, Big 12 champion, eliminated in the semis;

•Michael Joseph, Kansas 44.77, Big 12 runner-up, eliminated despite running 45.19, the meet’s fastest non-Q ever;

•William Jones, USC 44.65, Pac-12 champion, eliminated;

•Elija Godwin, Georgia 44.34, SEC runner-up, qualified but did not take the line.

The final was nearly a dual meet as only 4 schools were represented — 3 entries each from Florida and Arizona State, 1 apiece from Tennessee and North Carolina A&T.

Because the race was early on the program, the presence of 3 Gators gave an additional context to the race. If they did well, it could propel Florida into the middle of the team battle with favored Arkansas.

In the first 100, it seemed the favorite, Florida’s Ryan Willie, was not right as he lagged behind down the backstretch, sandwiched between Sun Devils to either side, Dubem Nwachukwu in lane 4, Justin Robinson in 6.

Willie made up ground through the turn and emerged marginally in front while one of his teammates, Emmanuel Bamidele, far to his right in 8, challenged and briefly went to the lead, the pair now clear of the rest of the field. The two battled to the line and as they hit the finish, neither knew who had won.

Willie, in his usual calm, stoic manner, briefly embraced his mate as the result popped up on the scoreboard: it was Bamidele by 0.005, 44.238–44.243. Both PRed, as did Emmanuel Bynum in 3rd (44.49) and Robinson in 4th (44.51).

Their 1–2 finish, along with JeVaughn Powell’s 7th, gave the Gators 20 points and the jolt they needed to chase down another team title.

“We’ve been training all year for this,” said Bamidele, a 23-year-old soph from Nigeria who towered over his shorter, younger teammate. “I’m just grateful for every moment. No matter the outcome, I’m really grateful for where I am.”

Willie, just 20 but a junior, was clearly spent at the end. “I’m still recovering from the 4×1,” he offered, though did not seem to claim that as an excuse, just an explanation. He had led off Florida’s runnerup short relay…