George Williams advance at NCAAs

EUGENE, Ore. – On day one of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. on Wednesday, No. 9 Arkansas Razorback women’s track and field had two of its student-athletes advance to Friday’s finals in the 400 meters. The University of Oregon is hosting the four-day event at Hayward Field.

"We had a good, solid first day," head coach Lance Harter said. "I think Stephanie Brown fell victim to weather and focus but we made up for it in the 400 meters. We rely on Shelise Williams a lot for leadership and she had a great semifinal race. It’s great to get Regina George in the 400 final, too. Brittany Hyter ran a solid race and she’ll come back tomorrow in the 100-meter hurdles. We are right on track in terms of points."

Junior Shelise Williams and freshman Regina George advanced to Friday’s finals in the 400 meters. Williams finished second in her heat and fourth overall with a time of 52.76. George was the final runner to advance as she finished fourth in her heat and eighth overall with a time of 53.30.

"I knew Regina George had what it took to make it to the final," associate head coach Rolando Greene said."She just needed to put a good race together. I’m glad she gets another chance to race on Friday. At the end of the day, I’m pleased with what we did today. We still have a lot of work to do but we had a good start today."

Sophomore Brittany Hyter competed in her first of potentially four races during the championships. In Wednesday’s semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles, she finished fourth in her heat and 12th overall with a time of 58.37. She did not advance to Friday’s finals but will run the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles on Thursday.

Freshman Stephanie Brown competed in the semifinals of the 800 meters. Her time of 2:08.15 was not fast enough to advance her to Friday’s finals. She finished fifth in her heat and 16th overall.

Competition will resume for the Razorbacks Thursday at 6 p.m. CT with junior Shantel Thompson in the finals of the triple jump.