Alcide, Orley get started in heptathlon
FAYETTEVILLE – Makeba Alcide stands in fourth place after day one of the heptathlon at the 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. Alcide turned in personal-best performances in each of Wednesday’s four events-100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 meters-and has accumulated a total of 3,391 points. Teammate Leah Orley is currently in 17th place with 2,985 points.
In the first event of the day, Alcide posted a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles. She won heat seven and finished fourth overall in the event with a time of 14.05, good for 971 points toward her score. Running in heat six, Orley collected 897 points with her performance of 14.59, her fastest hurdle effort in a heptathlon competition.
Alcide and Orley both had personal-best performances in the high jump. Alcide tied for third place in the event with a clearance of 5-8. She was one of five competitors to finish with that mark and picked up 891 points. Orley finished with a clearance of 5-3.25, one of four at that height, and earned 747 points.
The strong effort continued for Alcide in the shot put. She finished fourth in the event and posted 653 points with a day’s best toss of 38-11.75, a mark that came in her last attempt. Orley started the competition with a throw of 34-5.75 which stood as her best of the day, earning the sophomore 563 points.
Day one came to a close with the 200 meters and Alcide notching a fourth personal best in as many events. She ran to a time of 25.12 in heat three and finished eighth overall. Her performance was worth 876 points. Running in the final race of the day, Orley finished third in her heat with a time of 26.22 and 778 points.
The final three events of the heptathlon-long jump, javelin and 800 meters-will be held Thursday afternoon. Orley is then scheduled to return to the track later in the day along with teammate Brittany Hyter to compete in the preliminary rounds of the 400-meter hurdles. For more information and continued coverage of Arkansas’ week at Texas Relays, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
