Razorbacks Win Outdoor SEC Championship

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Put into the lead position by a 1-2-3 finish at 5,000 meters, the No. 8 University of Arkansas women’s track and field team won the 2014 SEC Outdoor Championship Sunday afternoon in Lexington, Ky. The Razorbacks scored 123 points during the four-day meet to win the program’s fourth SEC outdoor title and first since the 2004 season. The win is Arkansas’ second conference title of the season having won the cross country meet in November.

In the penultimate event of the meet, junior Diane Robison crossed in first place to win and SEC title at 5,000 meters and was followed in order by teammates Dominique Scott and Grace Heymsfield, respectively. Robison’s winning time of 15:47.25 sets a new SEC championship meet record. Scott clocked in at 15:53.74, followed by Heymsfield at 15:55.30.

“We figured out if we went 1-2-3 in the 5k, no matter what Florida did, that we would win – that was a valuable piece of information,” said Head Coach Lance Harter. “I went to the athletes and told them, if we can score 24 points, we have a shot. Heymsfield came barreling from behind to secure that third spot, Scott took care of business as usual and Robison pulled off the upset to win.”

The Razorbacks picked up 24 points in the event to go ahead on the scoreboard entering the 4×400-meter relay.

“We kept it exciting,” said Harter. “Between Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M and ourselves, it was battles through thick and thin in every event. We knew it would come down to the 5k and 4×400, we precluded that was going to happen anyway.”

The relay team of Shekara Boakye, Regine Williams, Talyor  Ellis – Watson and Chrishuna Williams earned a third-place finish in a tough field with a time of 3:29.58, clinching the SEC team title.

“We have been so close, so many times, and winning it was very special,” said Harter of the first SEC outdoor title in a decade. “It was nice to have the boss, Jeff Long there. He brought his entire staff out here. That makes us coaches feel really good about what we’re doing and how see much we’re appreciated.”

Earlier in the day, C. Williams and Ellis – Watson earned eight points for the Razorbacks with a fourth and sixth-place finish in the 400-meter, respectively. C. Williams clocked a 52.44, while EIlis – Watson crossed the finish line in 52.56. Stephanie Brown and Paige Johnston scored in the 800-meter to add to Arkansas’ winning point total. Brown’s time of 4:17.35 earned her a fifth-place finish, followed by Johnston in seventh place with a time of 4:18.73.

Tamara Myers was the first Razorback to score on the day, finishing seventh in triple jump at 42-5.25.

The Razorbacks continue their postseason schedule May 29-31 when they host the 2014 NCAA West Preliminary at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville. Full recap and results to follow.

For more information on Arkansas track and field, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.

Final Team Standings
1. Arkansas – 123 pts.
2. Florida – 116.5 pts.
3. Texas A&M – 113 pts.
4. Kentucky – 104 pts.
5. Georgia – 70.5 pts.
6. LSU – 65.5 pts.
7. Missouri – 62
8. Alabama – 36
9. Auburn – 30
10. Tennessee – 28
11. Mississippi State – 26
12. South Carolina – 25.5
13. Vanderbilt – 15
14. Mississippi – 4

Sunday Results

400-Meter (Final)
4. Chrishuna Williams – 52.44
6. Taylor Ellis – Watson – 52.56

800-Meter (Final)
9. Stephanie Brown – 2:20.56

1,500-Meter (Final)
5. Stephanie Brown – 4:17.35
7. Paige Johnston – 4:18.73
12. Keri McClary – 4:30.12

5,000-Meter
1. Diane Robison – 15:48.25
2. Dominique Scott – 15:53.74
3. Grace Heymsfield – 15:55.30
9. Jessica Kamilos – 16:41.72
14. Samantha Mohler – 17:00.55
15. Sandie Raines – 17:10.06
17. Kaitlin Flattmann – 17:10.72

4×100-Meter Relay
9. Boakye/R. Williams/C. Williams/Harper – 45.32

4×400-Meter
3. Boakye/Ellis-Watson/R. Williams/C. Williams – 3:29.58

Triple Jump
7. Tamara Myers – 42-5.25

Junior Stanley Kebenei won his second title of the weekend Sunday and the fourth-ranked University of Arkansas men’s track and field team finished in second place at the 2014 SEC Outdoor Championship. Kebenei won the 5,000 meters on the final day of the meet to go along with his steeplechase title from Saturday.

Overall, Arkansas finished the weekend with a runner-up total of 116.5 points and cronwed three SEC Champions in Raymond Higgs in long jump and Kebenei in steeplechase and the 5,000-meter. In addition, the Razorbacks earned three silver and three bronze medals.

“Our kids competed really hard, I’m proud of all of them,” said Head Coach Chris Bucknam. “We came to this meet to win, thought we had a chance, but Texas A&M caught fire in the second half of today and we just couldn’t keep up. My hats off to Texas A&M for a great meet. It’s disappointing because this would have been our third Triple Crown, but we held on for second and competed with a lot of pride and effort.”

Final Team Standings
1. Texas A&M – 155.5 pts.
2. Arkansas – 116 pts.
3. Florida – 93 pts.
4. Georgia – 92 pts.
5. Mississippi – 78 pts.
6. Kentucky – 65.5
7. Auburn – 50 pts.
8. LSU – 43 pts.
9. Alabama – 34 pts.
10 Mississippi State – 26 pts.
11. Tennessee – 24.5 pts.
12. South Carolina – 23 pts.
13. Missouri – 18.5 pts.

Kebenei won his second title of the week with a time of 14:11.27 in the 5,000-meter, followed by teammates Solomon Haile (14:20.95) in fifth and Gabe Gonzalez (14:22.32) in sixth to give Arkansas 17 points from the event.

Patrick Rono had an impressive day, running both of his races within an hour of each other. Rono finished fifth in the 1,500-meter at 3:50.26, turning around an hour later with a fourth-place in the 800-meter with a time of 1:48.40. Rono was followed by Tomas Squella in the 800-meter, with Squella’s time of 1:48.53 coming in fifth to score for Arkansas.

The hurdles were a success for the freshman duo of Omar McCleod and Larry Donald, scoring in their first appearances at an SEC Outdoor Championship meet. McCleod earned a runner-up finish in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking in at 13.57, a time that ranks in the top five all time at Arkansas, McLeod picked up the all-time No. 2 110-meter hurdles time in Saturday’s prelims with 13.51. Donald had a huge performance in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 52.08 for a sixth place spot.

The 4×100-meter relay team of Eric Hawkins, Jarrion Lawson, Neil Braddy and McCleod finished strong with a time of 39.54 for fifth place. The event marked Hawkins and McLoed’s first 4×100 championship race.

Anthony May had a bronze-medal performance in high jump clearing 6-11.75 for a third-place finish to score for the Razorbacks. Dwayne Golbek also scored in the event, with a seventh place finish at 6-9.75. Immediately follow high jump, May led the Razorbacks in triple jump, finishing fourth with a mark of 51-3.75. Raymond Higgs came in seventh at 50-6, while Clive Pullen scored in his first-ever SEC outdoor meet with a jump of 49-7.75 for eighth place.

Andrew Irwin had a strong performance in pole vault, finishing fourth in an elite field of the nation’s top vaulters at 17-11.25.

The Razorbacks continue their postseason schedule May 29-31 when they host the 2014 NCAA West Preliminary at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville. Full recap and results to follow.

“We have some big fish to fry coming up,” said Bucknam. “We’re hosting the West Preliminary on our home track in two weeks, hopefully we’ll get a strong crowd out for that. We’ll try to do the best we can.”

For more information on Arkansas track and field, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.

Sunday Results

800-Meter
4. Patrick Rono – 1:48.40
5. Tomas Squella – 1:48.53

1,500-Meter
5. Patrick Rono – 3:50.26

5,000-Meter
1. Stanley Kebenei – 14:11.27
5. Solomon Haile – 14:20.95
6. Gabe Gonzalez – 14:22.32
20. Raymond Joseph – 14:49.63

110-Hurdles
2. Omar McLeod – 13.57
400-Meter Hurdles
6. Larry Donald – 52.08

4×100-Meter
5. Hawkins/Lawson/Braddy/McLeod – 39.54

High Jump
3. Anthony May – 6-11.75
7. Dwayne Golbek – 6-9.75
9. Ken Legassey – 6-8
9. Noah Kittelson – 6-8

Triple Jump
4. Anthony May – 51-3.75
7. Raymond Higgs – 50-6
8. Clive Pullen – 49-7.75
17. Trae Carey – 46-3.25

Pole Vault
4. Andrew Irwin – 17-11.25

Shot Put
14. Devin Randall – 53-3.5

Javelin
15. Pete Mirocke – 197-9