Arkansas Three-Peats, Pushes SEC Title Streak to Seven
Full Results | Watch Sunday on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Behind four individual champions and a total of 21 student-athletes contributing points, the No. 2 Arkansas women’s track and field team collected its third straight Southeastern Conference (SEC) Outdoor title on Saturday at Sam Bailey Track and Field Stadium.
The Razorbacks scored 126.75 points over the three-day competition to capture the program’s sixth SEC outdoor title by a margin of 40.75 points over second place. The win also completed the program’s second-consecutive SEC Triple Crown, as Arkansas remains undefeated in conference competition dating back to the 2014 SEC Outdoor Championships.
SEC Champions
• 400 – Taylor Ellis-Watson: 50.81 (facility record)
• 5,000 – Dominique Scott-Efurd: 16:10.62 (facility record)
• 3,000-meter steeplechase – Jessica Kamilos: 9:48.16 (meet, facility and program record)
• Pole vault – Lexi Weeks: 4.57/15-0 (facility record)
SEC Scorers
Five heptathletes Payton Stumbaugh, Taliyah Brooks, Alex Gochenour, Leigha Brown and Kelsey Herman kicked off the weekend dominating the combined events to score 20 points towards the team total.
Arkansas placed five in the top three of four distance events, including the 1,500, 5K, 10K and 3,000-meter steeplechase led by gold-meriting performances by seniors Kamilos (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Scott-Efurd (5,000).
Along with the two seniors Valerie Reina (10,000) and Devin Clark (3,000-meter steeplechase) also finished inside the top-three in their respective events.
In total, the Razorbacks distance crew accounted for 53 points over the three-day span, with 22 of the 53 coming in the second to last race of the weekend, which saw Scott-Efurd, Clark, Kamilos and Reina finish 1-4-5-6 in the 5K.
Ellis-Watson guided the Arkansas’ sprinters and hurdlers leading by example in her preparation for prelims and determined pursuit of success in the finals. The Philadelphia native collected 18 points with a victory in the 400 and runner-up finish in the 200.
A nine-time All-American, Ellis-Watson currently ranks in the top six in the world in both events.
Damajahnee Birch and Payton Stumbaugh added one point apiece with eighth-place finishes in the 400 hurdles and 100 hurdles, respectively, while Ceara Watson contributed four points placing fifth in the 800 and Daina Harper picked up three points with a sixth-place showing in the 400.
NCAA indoor national champion Lexi Weeks was the top Razorback in the field, scoring 10 points with her win in the pole vault.
The event brought in 13.75 more points following a runner-up performance from Tori Weeks, a fourth-place finish and PR performance from Megan Zimlich and a seventh-place (three-way tie) finish for Ariel Voskamp
In the shot put, Micah Dennis improved in the finals round of competition with a mark of 15.56/51-0 3/4 to score two points for Arkansas.
The Razorbacks completed the weekend with a top-eight finish in the 4-x-400-meter relay with a team of Harper, Brianna Swinton, Birch and Monisa Dobbins.
SEC Championship – Result
100 – K. Parker (18) 11.70
200 – T. Ellis-Watson (2) 22.48 (final) | 22.52Q, K. Parker (27) 23.79, J. Williams (33) 25.96
400 – T. Ellis-Watson (1) 50.81 (final) | 52.34Q, D. Harper (6) 52.57 (final) | 52.78Q
800 – C. Watson (5) 2:07.92 (final) | 2:07.30Q
1,500 – D. Scott-Efurd (2) 4:25.15 (final) | 4:18.28Q, N. Hiltz (8) 4:30.84 (final) | 4:20.21Q, A. Sisson (10) 4:35.47 (final) | 4:23.97Q, T. Haiss (12) 4:39.97 (final) | 4:24.96Q and L. Bishop (32) 4:48.48
5,000 – D. Scott-Efurd (1) 16:10.62, D. Clark (4) 16:18.99, J. Kamilos (5) 16:21.32, V. Reina (6) 16:22.38, S. Brown (12) 16:43.92
10,000 – V. Reina (3) 34:13.11
100H – P. Stumbaugh (8) 13.86 (final) | 13.40Q, A. Gochenour (11) 13.43, K. Herman (21) 13.89, J. Williams (23) 14.01
400H – D. Birch (8) 58.13 (final) | 56.96Q, B. Swinton (13) 58.66
3KSC – J. Kamilos (1) 9:48.16, D. Clark (3) 9:54.83
4-x-100 – Arkansas (10) 44.76 T. Brooks, T. Ellis-Watson, D. Harper, K. Parker
4-x-400 – Arkansas (8) 3:34.13 D. Harper, B. Swinton, D. Birch, M. Dobbins
High Jump – C. Sitz (12) 1.65/5-5
Pole Vault – L. Weeks (1) 4.57/15-0, T. Weeks (2) 4.30/14-1 1/4, M. Zimlich (4) 4.30/14-1 1/4, A. Voskamp (7) 4.00/13-1 1/2
Long Jump – T. Brooks (15) 6.02/19-9
Shot Put – M. Dennis (7) 15.56/51-0 3/4
Heptathlon – P. Stumbaugh (3) 5,955, T. Brooks (4) 5,855, A. Gochenour (5) 5,804, L. Brown (6) 5,647 and K. Herman (7) 5,495
Women’s Team Standings
1. Arkansas (126.75)
2. Texas A&M (82)
3. Kentucky (80)
4. Tennessee (76)
5. LSU (75)
6. Alabama (67.25)
7. Florida (61)
8. Georgia (59)
9. Mississippi State (49.50)
10. Auburn (37)
11. Ole Miss (32.75)
12. Missouri (29.75)
13. South Carolina (26)
14. Vanderbilt (16).
The 2016 SEC Championship will air Sunday, May 15 via tape delay from 2-4 p.m. on ESPN2. For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
