Abington’s Devin Nugent wins second straight Penn Relays college hurdles title

The North Penn High product took the 400-meter hurdles crown for the second year in a row, thrilling a family with a long history at Franklin Field.

Abington native Devin Nugent holds his Penn Relays champion's watch after winning the college men's 400-meter hurdles title for the second year in a row.Read moreJonathan Tannenwald / Staff

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published April 24, 2025, 8:14 p.m. ET

As great as it is to win one Penn Relays title, imagine how cool it must be to win two in a row. Especially if you’re from the Philadelphia area and your father works just down the street.

That’s Devin Nugent of Abington and North Penn High, who’s now a junior at Pitt. He took the college men’s 400-meter hurdles championship for the second year in a row, thrilling his many friends and family in the stands with a time of 50.36 seconds.

“It feels really good — feels better than the last time,” he said. “It’s really a privilege. Before I run, every time, I thank God that I’m able to do so, I thank God that I’m healthy. Just thankful, really. It’s nothing more than that.”

But he wouldn’t dare say it’s easy.

“Every part about it, every day is hard,” he said. “Waking up just to go to practice is hard. So, nothing easy about it.”

Similar to last year, Nugent’s parents, Kimberly and Errol, joined him to celebrate just off the track. Errol only had to walk up the street from Penn’s hospital complex, where he works as a manager of clinical engineering.

The group on hand also included Devin’s brother Jorrell and sister Leah, and it was a particularly cool moment for her. She was a standout hurdler herself at Abington High and Virginia Tech, winning the Relays high school girls’ 400m title in 2010. Six years after that, she ran at the Olympics for Jamaica.

“Oh my gosh, it’s a dream come true,” she said. “I get nervous like I’m in the race. I love it. It’s awesome to have the family come together, and just get to support him.”

Nugent said she still gets recognized from time to time around the sport. But on this day, she was happy to give the spotlight to her brother.

“It’s, like, full circle, honestly, him doing the same event — both 400 hurdles, just taking the event to the next level,” she said. “He has something in him, just the tenacity, and not the nerves, and having fun, and it’s something I wish I had too. So I’m really proud of him, and I’m excited to see where his career goes.”