George wins SEC title at 400m, team in third

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BATON ROUGE, La. - Regina George won the 400 meters and the No. 11 University of Arkansas women's track and field team finished in third place Sunday at the 2012 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships in Baton Rouge, La. With a push over the final two events of the day, the Razorbacks moved past Georgia for the bronze finish with 111.5 points overall.

Having qualified with the fastest time in the preliminary round of the 400 meters, George defended her position with a time of 51.83 to win the first individual SEC title of her career. In the closest finish on the women's side, George crossed just .005 ahead of Rebecca Alexander of LSU to claim the victory. The win is Arkansas' first-ever title in the outdoor 400 meters at the conference meet. A day after running the second-fastest time in school history (51.79), George responded with the No. 3 time by a Razorback.

Teammate Whitney Jones finished sixth in the 400 meters giving Arkansas 13 points from the event. The Razorback senior posted a time of 52.98. George also had a fifth-place finish in the finals of the 200 meters Sunday. Overall, she was involved in four races on the final day of the conference meet.

"This win (at 400 meters) just lets me know how fit I am and that I'm in good shape for the end of the year," George said after her victory. "What better time to be as fit as possible than right now so I can do all I can for my team."

In the day's first event on the track, George teamed with Jones, Gwendolyn Flowers and Tiffany Hines for a third-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay. The foursome clocked in with a time of 44.31 to add six points to the team total. Flowers, George, Jones and Chrishuna Williams capped the weekend for the Razorbacks with a second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, posting a season-best time of 3:31.16. The time is more than two seconds faster than their previous season best (3:33.94).

With the team's second-place finish in the mile relay, Arkansas had three runner-up performances Sunday at Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Kristen Gillespie and Dominique Scott finished 2-3 in the 5,000 meters, good for 14 points. With one event remaining, that collective effort put the Razorbacks in striking distance of third place. The second-place finish by the 4x400-meter relay put the team ahead of Georgia by 3.5 points in the final team standings.

Ivanique Kemp captured the Razorbacks' other second-place result of the day. She and teammate Brittany Hyter finished in second and fourth place, respectively, in the finals of the 100-meter hurdles. Kemp crossed the finish line in a time of 13.25 while Hyter followed in 13.38. Hyter returned to the track for the finals of the 400-meter hurdles where she finished in eighth place.

Gillespie began her day with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters. The Razorback senior grabbed six points for the team with her time of 4:16.12. In sixth place, Keri Wood was Arkansas' second scorer in the event. She knocked nearly four seconds off her previous best with a finishing time of 4:18.84.

A two-hour highlight show recapping the SEC Championships will air Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. Qualifiers for the NCAA West Preliminary are scheduled to be announced this week. That competition will be contested May 24-26 in Austin, Texas. For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

Sunday Results

200 Meters
5. Regina George - 23.25 [4 points]

400 Meters
1. Regina George - 51.83 [10 points]
6. Whitney Jones - 52.98 [3 points]

800 Meters
9. Martine Borge - 2:11.26

1,500 Meters
3. Kristen Gillespie - 4:16.12 [6 points]
6. Keri Wood - 4:18.84 [3 points]

5,000 Meters
2. Kristen Gillespie - 16:31.58 [8 points]
3. Dominique Scott - 16:36.34 [6 points]
11. Kaitlin Flattmann - 17:03.15
12. Diane Robison - 17:03.44

100m Hurdles
2. Ivanique Kemp - 13.25 [8 points]
4. Brittany Hyter - 13.38 [5 points]

400m Hurdles
8. Brittany Hyter - 1:01.27 [1 point]

4x100m Relay
3. Flowers/George/Hines/Jones - 44.31 [6 points]

4x400m Relay
2. George/Jones/Williams/Flowers - 3:31.16 [8 points]

Triple Jump
16. Amalie Skage - 11.82m/28-9.5
19. Tamara Myers - 11.24m/36-10.5