DIFFICULT TRANSITION

My Baylor Story with Aren Spencer; photo of Aren looking on

DIFFICULT TRANSITION

5/15/2026 2:41:00 PM | Track & Field, My Baylor Story

A jumper when he came to Baylor, Spencer is now making his mark in the 400

By: Jerry Hill, Baylor Bear Insider

Even as a teenager in Barbados, Aren Spencer knew about the tradition of Baylor track and field and its reputation as Quarter-Miler U., developing Olympic gold medalists Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner.

But he was more interested in following in the footsteps of national champion triple jumper Felix Obi.

"I pretty much did it all – a little bit of sprinting, hurdles, jumps. I even did multis at one point," said Spencer, a senior for the Baylor track team that is in Tucson, Ariz., this week for the Big 12 Championship. "But going into my later years in secondary school, I prioritized the jumps a lot more. I still ran the 200 and 400, but the long jump and triple jump took precedence."

The jumps were also what punched his ticket to Baylor, signing in November 2021 after finishing third at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene with a career-best mark of 49 feet, 7 ¾ inches.

"I'm forever thankful for them giving me this opportunity to be here," Spencer said. "You see the names like Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner, it was kind of crazy that a school like that was interested in somebody like me."

After finishing just outside of a scoring position in the triple jump at the 2023 Big 12 Indoor Championship, Spencer's freshman season was cut short by a torn ligament in his left ankle, forcing him to shut it down after just three outdoor meets.

"Jumping was a little bit of frustration," he said. "No. 1, I was hurt. And No. 2, I wasn't performing how I wanted to perform. But things always come around full circle."

Limited again the next season, Aren said he had a "difficult-ish" conversation with head coach Michael Ford and jumps coach Stacey Smith going into his junior season about foregoing the jumps and trying to transition into more of a sprinter.

"They brought me here to jump, that's what was expected of me," whose career bests in the long jump and triple jump came during his freshman season. "I think I had run 48-point-something (in the 400) in high school, so they had a little bit of knowledge of me sprinting. But not enough to be like, 'Okay, stop jumps.' I thank them so much for listening to me and trusting me and trusting my judgement."

Aren didn't exactly set the world on fire last year, running a then-career-best time of 47.09 in the 400 meters at the Florida Relays. But with spots on the 4x400 relay opening up with both Dillon Bedell and Demar Francis out of eligibility after indoors, he was able to eventually earn a spot on a team that finished third at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship and advancd through the NCAA West Prelims.

"They had such a crazy 4x4 (indoors with Nate (Ezekiel), (Abbas) Ali, Dillon and Demar," Aren said. "But when (Bedell and Francis) left, because they only had an indoor season left, I knew it was my time to step up. I really just had to earn my spot meet by meet. After a while, Coach Ford trusted me more and more."

With 400-meter hurdles national champion and Bowerman Award finalist Nathaniel Ezekiel on the anchor leg, Aren said last year's plan was just for "everybody to get the stick to Nate, and he's going to do what he does."

But it's had to be more of a team thing this year with Spencer, Arizona State transfer Malik Franklin, Abbas Ali and Tyler Honeyman. And they've done just that, finishing third at the Big 12 Indoor with a time of 3:05.77 and running a season-best time of 3:05.15 that ranks third in conference and seventh in the NCAA West.

"I'm really, really, really proud of that team," Aren said. "This year, obviously, we don't have Nate, so we had to realize that everybody needs to do their part and everyone needs to do well. And I think we started to build trust in each other. It's not any one person that we're relying on, and it works. We've actually run faster than last year when we had a 43 split on one of the legs. I think we're going to do really well at conference, regionals and nationals."

Moved to the leadoff leg this year, Aren calls it "the most important leg" of the 4x400 relay.

"Some people might argue that, but I really do love the responsibility of getting the team in a good position," he said. "If I get the stick to Malik in a really good position, it makes his life a lot easier. He doesn't have to run from behind or run anyone down, and it makes everyone's life easier. Coach Ford trusts me to run that leadoff leg, and I take it with open arms. I love it."

Aren's personal breakthrough, though, came three weeks ago at the Michael Johnson Invitational. Beating his previous best in the 400 meters by more than a full second, he finished second behind former Texas A&M All-American Jevon O'Bryant in a 45.79 time that ranks ninth in the Big 12 and 21^st in the NCAA West.

"For him to run 45.7, I thought it was in him," Ford said. "But I'll be honest, we were always thinking that low 46 would be good. He's been going out really hard in practice and in the meets. So, I think his body is finally learning the rhythm of the 400. I think they're all figuring that out, but he did an awesome job."

And while it came late in his career, in his last home meet, Aren said it was a "breakthrough moment for me."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't doubt myself making the transition from jumps to sprints," he said, "because there was no indication that I'd run 45 in my senior year. There was nothing. I'm just proud of myself for staying the course and trusting Coach Ford and my teammates. He is such an amazing coach."

Running in the 400 and 4x400 relay at the Big 12 Championship this weekend, Aren won't be able to walk the stage for Saturday's commencement, but he has earned his undergraduate degree in health, kinesiology and leisure studies and plans to go through the summer ceremony in August.

That time in the 400 also "opened some doors" for him to represent Barbados in the Commonwealth Games and extend his running career.

"It made me realize that I still might have a future in this sport," said Aren, who is also considering pursuing a master's degree. "I was definitely making peace with the fact that this might be my last year . . . even running track. It's definitely opened different doors and possibilities to work and achieve. I will always remember that race, but I know there are more to come and more memories to make this year."