The 400 hurdles competition began with three semifinal heats on Wednesday, with Taylor winning the first heat in 56.64 seconds. Rice freshman Allison Beckford’s time of 56.39 seconds in the third heat was the best of the semifinals.

But in the surprise of the day, Johnson failed to earn one of the eight spots in the finals after placing second-to-last in the second heat.

“I still have no idea what happened to [Johnson],” Taylor said. “I guess she just ran a bad race.”

Johnson’s absence in the final left Patterson and Beckford as Taylor’s toughest competitors in the event. Beckford was the only collegiate athlete to beat Taylor head-to-head this season, but that race had occurred in March before the snow had even melted on the Harvard track.

Against Patterson in the Penn Relays, Taylor had pulled out a come-from-behind win, in which she passed Patterson on the final hurdle. That victory allowed her to feel more secure when Patterson took the early lead in Friday’s final.

“Penn Relays gave me a huge amount of confidence,” Taylor said. “When you’re competing against other athletes who are all at a very high level, you have to put it all together in one day.”

Taylor said her strategy was to stay close to Patterson until the final stretch while keeping ahead of Beckford.