Barr clocks nation's fastest time

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Junior Dacia Barr continued the University of Arkansas Lady Razorback’s terrific weekend of track and field on Sunday evening at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational by running the nation’s fastest collegiate time in the 1,500-meter run.

Barr finished fourth overall and first among collegiate athletes with a time of 4:15.00, the fifth fastest time Lady Razorback history. It is also the fastest 1,500 meters since former Lady’Back Christin Wurth went on a torrid pace where she notched Arkansas’s top four times at the SEC, NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships in 2003.

“We had a tremendous weekend at every location we went to this weekend,” Arkansas head coach Lance Harter said. “This is why we split the team up periodically, to get qualifiers and to put our young women in a position to excel. As for our effort at Stanford, I couldn’t be more pleased. We raced seven women and each recorded a regional qualifier with six of the marks improving on a previous best. Dacia’s time in the 1,500 makes her one of the people to look out for at the NCAA Championships. Her training has really picked up now that she has more confidence that her toe is healed and this just proves it.”

Barr’s time may have been fourth in her race, but those ahead of her are some of the up and coming superstars for USA Track and Field including former Michigan standout Lindsay Gallo who won the competition at 4:09.60. The mark moves Barr from number six nationally to the top spot, 0.75 seconds ahead of Stanford’s Arianna Lambie.

Also popping breakthrough performances were the Lady Razorback steeplechasers, but none had a day like Caroline Peyton who lopped 18 seconds off her previous personal best when she finished in 10:24.62. Peyton’s time is well under the NCAA regional mark and gives the Memphis, Tennessee, native the first NCAA qualifier of her career. Peyton would lead a contingent of three Lady Razorbacks in the race by finishing seventh overall, fifth among collegiate runners.

Tiffany Redlarczyk clocked a season best in the steeplechase when she ran 10:32.81, her fastest time since winning the SEC title in the same race last spring. Freshman Megan Jackson rounded out the Arkansas contingent with a personal best 10:45.00. Both Redlarczyk and Jackson also qualified for the regional meet.

In the 5,000-meter run, sophomore Denise Bargiachi added a 5,000-meter qualifier to her 10,000 mark when she ran 16:27.30. Second on the Lady Razorback roster to Christine Kalmer’s 16:16, Bargiachi’s time is the fourth 5K mark by a Lady Razorback that has qualified for the NCAA regional meet and improved upon her season and career bests by nearly 30 seconds.

The Lady Razorbacks conclude the regular season on Friday night at the Arkansas Twilight meet at John McDonnell Field. For more information about Lady Razorback Track or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to LADYBACKS.COM.