FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SATURDAY, MAY 29, 2021 – COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: Shawn Price

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

Online Version: https://bit.ly/3yQtMwC

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Arkansas registered eight more events they will contest at the NCAA Championships during Saturday’s session of the NCAA West Preliminary round at E.B. Cushing Stadium. In total, the Razorbacks will have 17 entries in 11 events with 15 athletes in Eugene, Oregon.

Events and entries added by Arkansas on the final day of the NCAA West meet included 100 (2), 200 (2), 800, 1500, 5000, 100 hurdles (2) as well as the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

The 4x100 relay finished second in their heat with a season best of 43.46 from lane two behind Houston (43.21) with a crew of Yoveinny Mota, Jada Baylark, Jayla Hollis, and Tiana Wilson. The time ranks No. 6 on the UA all-time list and earned the Razorbacks an automatic qualification to the NCAA semifinal in Eugene.

Relays advancing include USC (42.88), Oregon (42.94), Texas (43.01), Houston (43.21), Arkansas (43.46), Oklahoma (43.90), Texas Tech (44.01), Baylor (44.29), UNLV (44.40), UCLA (44.46), San Diego State (44.48), and Texas A&M (44.65).

All three Razorback hurdlers qualified automatically in the 100 hurdles. Daszay Freeman led the trio with a 12.92 (0.4 wind) as runner-up in the final heat with Hollis third in 13.19. Mota was runner-up in the first heat with a 13.21 (-0.7 wind). 

Overall, they ranked third, seventh and eighth among the 12 qualifiers for Eugene. Baylor’s Ackera Nugent led the field with a 12.76 in the second heat.

Krissy Gear produced a 4:10.09 as runner-up in the first heat of the 1,500m to earn an automatic qualification behind the 4:09.89 by Stanford’s Julia Heymach and ahead of a 4:10.18 by BYU’s Whittni Orton. Gear closed with the fastest split in the race, covering the final lap in 1:02.93.

Also in the same heat were Carina Vilhoen (4:16.13) and Kennedy Thomson (4:17.51) who placed eighth and ninth, finishing 15th and 17th overall. Isabel Van Camp posted a time of 4:19.53 to place ninth in the second heat and 20th overall.

In the 100m, a pair of 11.27 times advanced Tiana Wilson and Jada Baylark with automatic qualification. Wilson won her heat with that performance while Baylark was runner-up in the second heat. Overall, those times ranked fifth and sixth.

The Razorback pair returned to race in the same heat of the 200m with Baylark setting a career best of 22.86 in third and Wilson just missing her PR with a 22.94 in fourth. Baylark moved to No. 4 on the UA all-time list.

Shafiqua Maloney controlled her heat of the 800m and won in 2:03.30. She split 59.34 at 400m and then had a 1:03.96 on the second circuit to win by over a second and a half. The time ranked second overall to a 2:02.13 by Baylor’s Aaliyah Miller to win the third heat. 

In the 5,000m, with four Razorbacks racing, Arkansas advanced Lauren Gregory, who placed second in the second heat with a 15:59.95. Katie Izzo (16:10.46) and Devin Clark (16:24.91) finished eighth and 11th in the race while Abby Gray (16:36.98) placed 13th in the first heat. 

Overall, Gregory finished sixth and was followed by Izzo (15th), Clark (20th), and Gray (26th).

Arkansas won its heat of the 4x400 relay in 3:27.58, fifth best time on UA all-time list, with a foursome of Paris Peoples, Morgan Burks-Magee, Maloney (50.97), and Wilson (51.86).

Wilson advanced to Eugene in four events – 100, 200, 4x100, and 4x400 – while Baylark advanced in three – 100, 200, and 4x100.

Earlier in the meet, Peoples (52.32) and Burks-Magee (52.62) placed 16th and 17th overall in the 400m, with Peoples sixth in the second heat while Burks-Magee finished seventh in the third heat.

Racing in the 3,000m steeplechase Gracie Hyde (10:26.04) placed eighth in the third heat while Logan Morris (10:32.47) finished 10th in the first heat. Overall, they finished 26th and 30th.

NCAA Championships | Razorbacks Advancing (11 events, 17 entries, 15 athletes)