NCAA leader, school records for Alcide

FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback senior Makeba Alcide became the No. 3 all-time collegiate performer in the pentathlon Friday as the No. 5 University of Arkansas women’s track and field team played host to the Razorback Team Invitational. In the win, Alcide broke the school record and established an NCAA-leading score of 4,464 points in the five-event competition. After day one of the 11-team scored meet, the Razorbacks sit in fourth place with 34 team points.

With her performance Friday, Alcide became the third highest-scoring collegiate athlete in the pentathlon. Her score also represents the sixth-highest collegiate score ever. In her first pentathlon of the season, Alcide collected four lifetime-best performances including a school-record effort of 1.89m/6-2.25 in the high jump. Alcide established a national record for her home country of St. Lucia and replaced the previous school record of 4,141 set by DeeDee Brown in 2002.

“I’ve had my eye on that record since I got (to Arkansas),” Alcide said following her win. “I missed it by just a few points last year so to do it during my first multi of this year is very important to me.

“I don’t think I’ve peaked too soon. I still have a lot of room for improvement. This is just my first (pentathlon) of the year so hopefully it keeps getting better and better. The only thing that actually surprised me today was the high jump. I didn’t know I could go so high so early but it felt good.”

Along the way, Alcide racked up personal bests of 8.45 in the 60-meter hurdles, 1.89m/6-2.25 in the high jump, 5.88m/19-3.5 in the long jump and 2:16.94 at 800 meters. Her effort in the high jump broke the school record of 1.80m/5-11.25 which was set by Jessica Johnson in 2003. She also set the program’s pentathlon-event records with her results in the high jump and 800 meters. Alcide entered the weekend with a previous best pentathlon score of 4,126 points.

Regina George turned in a second-place performance at 200 meters Friday. Running in the last heat of the timed section final, the Razorback senior ran to a season-best time of 23.61 to add eight points to the Razorbacks score. She is scheduled to return to the track Saturday at 400 meters and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay.

The Razorbacks added seven points to their team total when Danielle Nowell tied for second in the pole vault. The Razorback junior had a final clearance of 4.02m/13-2.25 to tie Natasha Masterson of Texas for runner-up honors. Rachel Carpino added five points toward the Razorbacks’ total with a fourth-place finish at 5,000 meters. She held on to her scoring position with a finishing time of 17:17.00. Saturday’s race marked the first career 5,000-meter race for Carpino.

Kirsten Hesseltine wrapped the Razorbacks’ day with a personal-best performance in the high jump. A week removed from establishing a personal best, the Springdale, Ark., posted a new lifetime best by clearing 1.77m/5-9.75 to finish fifth in a field that included the defending NCAA indoor champion. Hesseltine began her competition with three consecutive clearances before taking a third attempt to set a new personal best.

In the preliminary round of the 60 meters, Gwendolyn Flowers finished in third place of the third heat but grabbed a qualifying spot into the next round. She crossed the line in a time of 7.62 and was the 15th overall qualifier. The semifinal round of the event will be run Saturday at 2:15 p.m. Ivanique Kemp also qualified for semifinal action in the 60-meter hurdles. She clocked the second-fastest time of the preliminary round, crossing in a season-best time of 8.23. Saturday’s semifinal will be held at 2:05 p.m.

Fans can follow along this weekend with live results via Flash Results, an interactive blog and RazorVision video stream. Updates of the Razorback Team Invitational through Twitter will use the hash tag of #RazInv.

For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Fans can also keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter pages.

Friday Results
Team Standings
1. No. 16 Georgia - 63
2. No. 13 Texas - 50
3. No. 7 Florida - 43
4. No. 5 Arkansas - 34
5. Oklahoma - 29
6. No. 12 Arizona - 27
7. No. 23 Nebraska - 15
7. Florida State - 15
9. No. 6 LSU - 14
10. No. 17 Baylor - 5
11. Oklahoma State - 1

Individual Events
60 Meters (preliminary)
15. Gwendolyn Flowers – 7.62Q
21. Shekara Boakye – 7.75
22. Ivanique Kemp – 7.76

200 Meters (timed final)
2. Regina George – 23.61 [8 points]
11. Gwendolyn Flowers – 24.17
26. Megan Paul – 24.98
36. Chrishuna Williams – 25.35
39. Shekara Boakye – 25.59 (PR)
47. Alexa Vessell – 27.61

5,000 Meters
4. Rachel Carpino – 17:17.00 [5 points]

60m Hurdles (preliminary)
4. Ivanique Kemp – 8.23Q

High Jump
5. Kirsten Hesseltine – 1.77m/5-9.75 (PR)

Pole Vault
2. Danielle Nowell – 4.02m/13-2.25 [7 points]
9. Megan Zimlich – 3.42m/11-2.5
--. Ariel Lachance – NH
--. Sandi Morris - NH

Pentathlon
1. Makeba Alcide – 4,464 points [SR] [10 points]
    1. 60m hurdles – 8.45 (PR) [1,028 points]
    1. High jump – 1.89m/6-2.25 (SR) [1,093]
    2. Shot put – 12.05m/39-6.5 [664]
    3. Long jump – 5.88m/19-3.5 (PR) [813]
    3. 800m – 2:16.94 (PR) [866]

PR – personal best; SR – school record