Field efforts recognized by SEC

FAYETTEVILLE – Raymond Higgs and Tina Sutej, members of the University of Arkansas track and field teams, have garnered accolades from the SEC for their respective performances last weekend at the 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Higgs was named the Men’s Freshman of the Week while Sutej was selected the Women’s Field Athlete of the Week.

Higgs was the top freshman and finished fourth overall in the ‘A’ section of the long jump at the 2011 Texas Relays. The Freeport, Bahamas, native got out to a personal-best 25-11.5 on his second attempt of the day. His jump is No. 1 in the SEC, tops among all freshman in the country and fourth overall in the NCAA. He closed out the weekend with an outdoor personal-best clearance of 7-0.5 in the ‘A’ section of the high jump, his first successful jump over the seven-foot mark this season.

Sutej won her first Texas Relays title with a victory in the pole vault. She cleared 14-9 to outduel Shade Weygandt of Texas Tech for the win. Sutej’s winning clearance equals the Texas Relays meet record and Arkansas school record. The meet record was originally set in 2004 (Chelsea Johnson, UCLA) and the Ljubljana, Slovenia, native equaled her own school mark set last summer. The win is her ninth of the season in as many tries. Her clearance of 14-9 is the new national leader.

The outdoor season continues this weekend for the Razorbacks with meets in California and Oklahoma. Arkansas’ men will send a group to the 53rd Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. The Razorback women will split for a pair of competitions, the Mt. SAC Relays and the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman.