4x400M advances at NCAAs

EUGENE, Ore. – No. 9 Arkansas Razorback women’s track and field added to its momentum and advanced its 4×400-meter relay to the finals on day two of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Eugene, Ore.

"Everything is right on schedule for us," head coach Lance Harter said. "The kids we needed to advance are advancing and tomorrow begins the harvesting of points. We have two entries in the 400-meter finals and three in the pole vault."

Arkansas’ 4×400-meter relay finished first in their heat and third overall in the semifinals. Sophomore Whitney Jones, junior Shelise Williams, senior Karen Thomas and freshman Regina George combined for a time of 3:33.97. They will run in Saturday’s final at 1:40 p.m. CT.

"We are very confident in our coaches, in our training and in our teammates," Williams said. "We always give it our all and we always race to win. I think everyone ran to the best of their abilities today. There’s always room for improvement. We put a good race together and did what we needed to do to advance."

"We didn’t come here to get second," associate head coach Rolando Greene said. "We came to win this event and set the school record. Those are our ultimate goals. We need to put a good race together for the final, the same races we have been putting together all season. We want that school record. If we get the record but don’t win, that’ll be a very fast race."

Sophomore Brittany Hyter competed in the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles. She finished eighth in her heat and 23rd overall with a time of 13.58. She did not advance to Saturday’s finals. Junior Shantel Thompson competed in the finals of the triple jump. She finished 21st overall with a leap 41-1.

Competition will resume at 6 p.m. CT Friday for the Razorbacks with seniors Katie Stripling and Janice Keppler and sophomore Tina Sutej in the pole vault.