BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (March 2) – Auburn junior Kayinsola Ajayi of Nigeria won the men’s 60 meters at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday in historic fashion, clocking 6.45 seconds to equal the collegiate record and claim his first SEC gold in the event.
Ajayi exploded out of the blocks and never looked back, holding off his rivals and crossing the line well clear of Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins, who took silver in 6.53 seconds, while his Auburn teammate Israel Okon earned bronze in 6.54. Senior Omari Lewis placed sixth in 6.61 to give the Tigers another solid scoring finish.
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The 21-year-old’s time matched the all-time collegiate best shared by Christian Coleman, Terrence Jones, and Leonard Myles-Mills, while breaking Leonard Scott’s long-standing meet record of 6.48 set in 2001. The performance also matched the Gilliam Indoor Track facility record and established a new Auburn school mark.
Additonally, Ajayi’s time broke the long-serving Nigerian record of 6.48 seconds, set by Deji Aliu in 1999.
Karabo Letebele of Arkansas with 6.58, and LSU’s Jaiden Reid at 6.59, also dipped inside 6.60 seconds for fourth and fifth, respectively.
Ole Miss senior sprinter Alicia Burnett secured the women’s 60m title. After posting a strong heat time of 7.14 seconds, Burnett returned on Saturday to claim Ole Miss’s first-ever SEC 60-meter championship, lowering her personal best to 7.08 seconds.
The 23-year-old’s performance ranks her among the top performers at both the SEC and collegiate levels, while her time also surpassed Ole Miss Olympian McKenzie Long’s 2023 record of 7.10 seconds, tied Jamaicans Remona Burchell and Brianna Lyston’s SEC meet record, and placed her at No. 10 on the all-time collegiate list.
Men’s 60 meters final results:
- Kayinsola Ajayi (Auburn) – 6.45 PB, FR, =ITF, MR, =CR
- Jelani Watkins (Arkansas) – 6.53
- Israel Okon (Auburn) – 6.54
- Karabo Letebele (Arkansas) – 6.58
- Jaiden Reid (LSU) – 6.59
- Omari Lewis (Auburn) – 6.61
- Traunard Folson (Tennessee) – 6.62
- Adekalu Fakorede (Miss State) – 6.69
