EUGENE, Ore. – Baylor track & field's Nathaniel Ezekiel was crowned glorious on the final day of the men's competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field. The senior ran his final lap in a Baylor uniform with a PR of 47.49, the No. 3 all-time mark in collegiate history.  
 
Ezekiel broke his own BU program record, the Nigerian national record and now has the No. 2 time in the World this season. The Bowerman Watchlist candidate now holds the third, seventh, eighth and ninth fastest times in NCAA 400mH history.
 
Ezekiel brings home the hardware, the first National Champion for Baylor in the 400mH since Bayano Kamani in 2001 and only the third Bear to win the event. The Delta State, Nigerian is the 18^th Outdoor National Champion in Baylor track & field history.
 
Beside Ezekiel competing on Friday was Demario Prince, who scored All-American honors in his NCAA Outdoor Championships debut. Prince put up his fourth-fastest time in his career, the fifth-fastest in program history, at 13.44 to finish fifth overall.
 
Prince is the first All-American in the 110mH since Baylor Hall of Famer Jeff Jackson in 1995. He only the second, behind Jackson in 1993, freshman to All-American status in the 110mH.
 
MIKE ON THE MIC
On head coach Michael Ford's message to Nathaniel Ezekiel…
"Well, I always tell him to always go have fun, just execute like you've been doing all year. I said, 'You're the only one that has run under 48 this year. Just do what you've been doing.' I think that was a big key. When we had our team meeting on Tuesday, one of the things I told them was just kind of stay in the moment. Embrace it, because it's your last one. I told him, a lot of people complain about coming to Hayward Field because of the weather or all this. I just gave him a story, I said my last national championship on the relay was here. When I came back, I think we finished fourth as a team my first year back at Baylor. My first national champion as a coach was here with Trayvon, so I was like, 'Who's going to be my first national champ as a head coach out here?' And he was the one who did it. It's always going to be special to me, having our first national champion in Nate in the 400 hurdles."
 
On Demario Prince finishing fifth overall…
"Yeah, I actually thought he had one of his best warmups going into that race. I know he and the guy that actually won it from Auburn, I think they bumped hands going over hurdle two. That threw him off a little bit, and then he made an adjustment to try to get back into the race. I thought after hurdle four – four through eight were good and then he smashed number nine. He hit it with his lead leg and that killed him again. He finished the race, but I was still proud of him considering last year he was doing rehab from his injuries. For him to be an All-American, be top five in the country, I was really proud of him considering this is his first year doing outdoor."
 
On Ezekiel going out as a National Champion…"
"It's always kind of bittersweet. Our season is officially done now for our team. But we went out with a bang with that amazing run from Nate. He's got three of the fastest times ever in collegiate history. I think that's just awesome."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The two hurdlers capped off Baylor's track & field 2025 season, as the women did not qualify to any final events on Saturday.