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NEWS: Arkansas Star & Four-Time All-American Sydney Vaught Goes Pro With Nike
- Aimee Mackenzie
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
Four-time All-American Sydney Vaught (née Thorvaldson) has announced via Instagram that she has signed a professional contract with Nike.
Vaught has not yet clarified if she will remain under the guidance of her current college coach or whether her contract will spark a relocation with a new professional training group.
Last month, Nike signed South Carolina star Salma Elbadra to an NIL deal.
Regarding the announcement, Vaught stated...
“Not many people can say they have the job they dreamed of as a kid. I am blessed & humbled to share that I have signed a professional running contract with Nike. This has been a lifelong dream of mine & I’m so grateful for everyone that has supported me in its pursuit. Excited to step forward in faith & chase more crazy dreams!”
In March, Vaught secured her fourth All-American honor with an 8th place finish over 5000 meters at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships. Sydney Vaught also became an All-American at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championship with a 7th place finish over 10,000 meters.
The newest Razorback alum also excelled at the NCAA XC Championships where she collected two All-American accolades with an 11th place finish in 2023 and a 13th place effort in the fall of 2025.
Outside of her All-American accolades, Vaught made six other national meet appearances across all seasons of competition. Notably, she placed 10th over the 10,000 meters at the 2025 addition of the outdoor national meet in a new personal best time of 32:21.37. On top of that, Vaught competed over 5000 meters at two outdoor outdoor meets where she placed 12th in 2023 and 13th in 2024.
This past winter, the Razorback standout posted a string of personal best performances on the indoor oval, including a 15:02 (5k) to claim the title at the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships. Vaught also ran 8:49 (3k) at the 2026 Saucony Battle for Boston and 4:33.35 in the mile at the 2026 Arkansas Invitational.