Gochenour Leads After Day 1 of #TXRelays15 Heptathlon

March 25, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Behind a trio of personal bests and another all-conditions best, junior Alex Gochenour leads the heptathlon after day one at the 88th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. Through the first four events of the two-day competition, Gochenour has 3,757 points with teammates Leigha Brown and Taliyah Brooks in sixth and seventh place, respectively. A tape-delay broadcast of day one will be aired at 6 p.m. (CT) on the Longhorn Network.

Gochenour’s score is one point better than the previous day-one school record of 3,756 set by Makeba Alcide at the 2013 SEC Championships in Columbia, Mo. She will take a 247-point lead over the field into day two which consists the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. Gochenour opened the day with personal bests in the 100-meter hurdles (13.15), high jump (1.78m/5-10) and shot put (13.02m/42-8.75). Her time of 24.08 at 200 meters was wind-aided but stands as her best in any conditions.

Brown is currently in sixth place with 3,386 points thanks to a personal best in the shot put of 12.61m/41-4.5, nearly a foot past her previous best. She capped her day with a wind-aided time 25.33 at 200 meters. Competing in the first heptathlon of her career, Brooks is in seventh with 3,359 points. She had top-five finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and high jump to help herself into top-eight position.

Day two of the heptathlon is set to start Thursday at 11 a.m. and will consist of the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. The Razorbacks are also slated to have Sparkle McKnight and Brianna Swinton compete in the preliminary round of the 400-meter hurdles. Each day of the Texas Relays will be broadcast by the Longhorn Network.

88th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on LHN
Wednesday, March 25 – 6-7:30 p.m. (tape delay of multi events)
Thursday, March 26 – 4:30-6 p.m. (tape delay of multi events); 6-9 pm.
Friday, March 27 – 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; 7-9 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 – 1-5 p.m.

Arkansas has won 17 Texas Relays titles in program history including seven wins in the relay events. Former Razorback standout Tina Sutej still owns the meet record in the pole vault with her clearance of 4.55m/14-11 at the 2012 event.

The outdoor home opener is also scheduled for this week with the Arkansas Spring Invitational which will be held March 27-28 at John McDonnell Field. After Friday’s hammer throw, the competition begins Saturday with field events at 10 a.m. and running events at 1:30 p.m. For questions or to purchase tickets for home events, call 800-982-HOGS (4647) or email raztk@uark.edu.

88th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays | Austin, Texas
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Heptathlon (Day 1)
1. Alex Gochenour – 3,757 points
1. 100mH – 13.15 (PR) [1,102 points]
2. High jump – 1.78/5-10 (PR) [953]
4. Shot put – 13.02m/42-8.75 (PR) [729]
1. 200m – 24.08W (+4.3) [973]
6. Leigha Brown – 3,386 points
5. 100mH – 13.95w (+2.2) [985 points]
8. High jump – 1.69m/5-6.5 [842]
6. Shot put – 12.61m/41-4.5 (PR) [702]
10. 200m – 25.33w (+2.4) [857]
7. Taliyah Brooks – 3,359 points
2. 100mH – 13.55w (+3.9) [1,043 points]
5. High jump – 1.72m/5-7.75 [879]
12. Shot put – 10.62m/34-10.25 [570]
6. 200m – 25.22w (+2.5) [867]

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.