Big 10 Road Battle Up Next For No. 2 Razorbacks

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With the 2018 indoor season officially underway, the No. 2 Arkansas women’s track and field team will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan this weekend, competing at the Simmons-Harvey Quad Saturday, Jan. 20.

Who: #2 Arkansas, #12 Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State
Important Links: Live Results | Meet Schedule

Hosted by the University of Michigan in their brand new state of the art indoor track and field facility, the Simmons-Harvey Quad will be a four-team scored bout, which will feature the Razorbacks pitted against three of the top programs in the Big 10 conference.

“We’re slowly just activating a lot of our elite athletes,” head coach Lance Harter said. “As far as team scoring goes, we’re not going to worry about it or be concerned with that aspect of the competition. We’ll obviously compete well but we’re not spreading ourselves thin. Philosophically, the team and staff are concerned about two scoring meets a year and they are the SEC meet and the NCAA meet. This time of the season is ultimately about preparing our athletes to be able to compete well at those two championships.”

Events to Watch:

60 Meter Dash (10:46 a.m. Prelims | 1:o4 p.m. Finals)
Featured Razorbacks: No. 16 Jada Baylark (PR: 7.37) and Kiara Parker (PR: 7.36*)
Sophomore Jada Baylark will look to carry the momentum from her season debut at the Arkansas Invitational where she clocked a lifetime best of 7.37 to earn a spot in the national top-20.  Baylark won the event, closely trailed by her teammate and training partner Kiara Parker, who placed fourth at the Razorbacks’ first meet off a solid opening time of 7.45.

Mile (11:15 a.m.)
Featured Razorbacks: No. 4 Taylor Werner (PR: 4:41.31) and Devin Clark (PR: 4:45*)
The Simmons-Harvey Quad will see the return of Arkansas All-American distance runner Devin Clark who sat out last indoor season due to injury. Clark will line up in the mile next to budding young talent Taylor Werner who currently holds the fourth-best time in the NCAA this season.

3,000 (1:35 p.m.)
Featured Razorback: Taylor Werner (PR: 9:06.34*)
A runner-up at this distance at the Southeastern Conference championships last season, Taylor Werner will pull double duty between the mile and the 3,000, laying a solid base foundation for her training ahead of postseason competition. She earned All-American recognition in the event in the 2017 as a national qualifier.

60 Meter Hurdles (10:30 a.m. Prelims | 11:54 a.m. Finals)
Featured Razorback: No. 3 Payton Chadwick (PR: 8.09*) and Janeek Brown (PR: N/A)
Multi-events performer Payton Chadwick will tackle her strongest pentathlon event for the second-consecutive week, competing in the open hurdles. Chadwick dominated the event in her indoor-return last weekend, clocking 8.18 to earn the No. 3 spot on the national leader boards. Freshman Janeek Brown will look to join Chadwick on the NCAA boards, hoping to put together a complete race after stumbling on the next to last hurdler at the Arkansas Invitational.

Pole Vault (11 a.m.)
Featured Razorbacks: No. 4 Tori Hoggard (PR: 4.57m/15-0*) and Lexi Jacobus (4.64m/15-2 1/2*)
New names, same talent. As is the case for the twins formerly known to the world as the Weeks’ sisters. Tori Hoggard currently checks in at No. 4 on the NCAA leader boards, following her 14-foot clearance on her home runway at the Arkansas Invitational. Lexi Jacobus will look to open her season just as strong this weekend in Ann Arbor. The twin tandem swept the top two spots in the pole vault at both the SEC indoor and outdoor meets last season for the Razorbacks.

Long Jump (10 a.m.)
Featured Razorback: Taliyah Brooks (PR: 6.48m/21-3*)
A perpetual national contender in the pentathlon Taliyah Brooks will open up in her secondary event this weekend, taking on the long jump at the Simmons-Harvey Quad. Brooks owns both the program indoor and outdoor records and earned an NCAA bronze medal in the event at the 2016 installment of the outdoor championships.

*PR from a previous season

The Simmons-Harvey Quad will begin at 10 a.m. with the men’s high jump. Running events will kick off at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s 60-meter hurdles preliminary round.

For the latest information on Arkansas men’s and women’s track and field, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.