Amber Anning earns first-team Academic All-America honor

FAYETTEVILLE – In a season full of major accomplishments, Razorback senior Amber Anning adds a first-team Academic All-America honor among women’s track and field/cross country as selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).

One of 18 members on the first-team Academic All-America, Anning posted a GPA of 3.69 in Advertising & Public Relations this past academic year while producing a 4.0 during the spring semester.

Anning is one of three student-athletes from the SEC among the first-team selections, joined by Lamara Distin of Texas A&M and Vanderbilt’s Veronica Fraley.

Overall, the Arkansas women’s program has collected 46 CSC Academic All-America honors by 33 student-athletes.

In the Razorbacks history with the Academic All-America program Tara Diebold earned the distinction three times. Two-time honorees include Kim Mount, Megan Flowers, Jessica Daily, Andreina Byrd, Jessica Johnson, Maureen Scott, Katie Stripling, Sandi Morris, Lexi Jacobus, Torri Hoggard, and Natassia Campbell.

 

In addition to a sterling academic year by Anning, she accomplished multiple feats during the track and field season which led to her qualifying for her first Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

Indoors, Amber won the NCAA Indoor 400m title in 50.79 while leading an Arkansas 1-2-3 finish for 24 points as the Razorbacks claimed the team title by a 55-50 margin over Florida. In the prelims, Amber clocked a 50.74 that bettered the Boston New Balance facility record of 51.60 set earlier in the season by JaMeesia Ford of South Carolina.

The indoor campaign included a British 200m record of 22.60 as well as the SEC 400m title in 50.86.

Outdoors, Anning produced her sub-50 second performance in the 400m with a 49.51 while placing third among an Arkansas 1-2-3-5 finish in the SEC Championships. The time was 0.10 off the British record of 49.41 held by Christine Ohuruogu from the 2013 World Championships held in Russia.

In the NCAA West First Round, Anning anchored the Razorback 4 x 400m relay to a collegiate record of 3:21.92, shaving 0.01 off the previous mark set by Kentucky in 2022.

During the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Anning anchored the 4 x 100m relay to a school record of 42.45 in the semifinal, bettering the previous mark of 42.65.

In the NCAA 400m final, Anning placed third in 49.59 among a historic 1-2-3-4 super sweep by the Razorbacks, which accounted for 29 team points.

Closing out the NCAA Championships with the 4 x 400m relay, trailing Florida in team scoring 59-53, Arkansas shattered its collegiate record by 3.96 seconds with an amazing 3:17.96 performance that ranks as the No. 4 performer and No. 10 performance on the world all-time list.

Anning led off the 4 x 400m relay with a 50.52 split on the world-leading effort as Arkansas claimed the team title by a 63-59 margin over Florida to complete a sweep of NCAA team titles in 2024.

Returning to England for the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester last month, Anning won the 400m title to secure her place on Team GB for the Paris Olympics. Anning posted a stadium record of 50.64 in the prelims, then claimed the Championship record with a 50.47 in the final, taking down a mark of 50.62 set in 1999 by Katharine Merry.