Hepts Take Over NCAA Leader Board
AUSTIN, Texas – Day two of the heptathlon competition at the 90th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, presented by Spectrum, was dominated by Arkansas’ combined events trio Taliyah Brooks, Payton Stumbaugh and Leigha Brown.
Following their stellar outing in Austin, the Razorback trio now own the top-three best marks in the heptathlon on the NCAA leader board.
Brooks took control of the event as she picked up major points in the long jump, set a PR in the javelin throw and finished strong in the 800-meter run. Her final score of 6,075 points earned Brooks the fourth Razorback record of her career (indoor and outdoor long jump, pentathlon). Brooks finished the heptathlon as the top collegiate performer, second only to professional Erica Bougard of Chula Vista Elite.
“We started with the 100 hurdles and I did not have a good hurdle race,” Brooks said. “It was probably one of my slowest races in the past two years but I still managed over 1,000 points so it was fine. I had a really strong high jump, a decent shot put and PR’d in the 200 on day one. I started day two with the long jump and I had a very mediocre jump in my opinion – the shortest jump I’ve jumped all year. I followed it up with the best javelin series that I’ve ever had and then with my 800 I just stayed relax and ran. It was a good two days overall.”
Closely trailing Brooks, Stumbaugh and Brown placed fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of all collegiate competitors excepting their teammate. Brown improved on her personal best by 44 points while Stumbaugh put forth a phenomenal effort in her first combined events competition since June 2016.
ProHog Alex Gochenour finished in third place with a solid score of 5,922 points. Fellow ProHog and US Olympian Chrishuna Williams captured the 800 invitational title, running 2 minutes, 2.25 seconds in her 2017 debut. Williams’ time is currently the eighth-best in the world this year.
Arkansas will shift gears on Friday, March 31 as the distance crew will open up at the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, California. The Razorback pole vault trio of Desiree Freier, Lexi Weeks and Tori Weeks will close out the weekend in Texas on Saturday, April 1.
Associate Head Coach Chris Johnson Sounds Off
On Taliyah Brooks record-breaking day
“I think that Taliyah [Brooks] had a very strong indoor and we knew that if she could stay healthy and execute that she’d have a shot at being over 6,000 points. We weren’t looking to break the school record but we knew that if she had a good enough meet it was definitely possible.”
On the multis overall
“We really came down here to qualify for the NCAA meet. I think three of the four really performed well as well as Alex [Gochenour] as a post-collegiate. Leigha Brown did well and got a PR. Kelsey [Herman] had three fouls in the long jump and in the javelin, so that was a bit of a down point since we really focus on qualifying for nationals at this meet and then getting ready for the rest of the season. The weather was great here and there were a lot of great competitors. You couldn’t ask for a better situation.”
On Payton Stumbaugh’s combined events debut
“Payton [Stumbaugh] looked excellent. She didn’t compete indoors at all and to come out and be within 100 points and change from her PR was just phenomenal. For her to keep herself composed and score that high with only one PR on the day in the high jump was fantastic.”
Texas Relays
Date/Time: Friday, March 31, 8:15 a.m. CT | Saturday, April 1, 12 p.m. CT
Venue: Mike A. Myers Stadium
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries | Live Results
LHN Broadcast Schedule (all times Central)
• Saturday, April 1: 1:30-5:30 p.m. (LIVE)
Stanford Invitational
Date/Time: Friday, March 31, 1:18 p.m. CT | Saturday, April 1,
Venue: Cobb Track & Angell Field
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries | Live Results | FloTrack
Texas Relays
March 30, 2017
Mike A. Myers Stadium (Austin, Texas)
Heptathlon
2. Taliyah Brooks – 6,075 points
3. 100 Hurdles – 13.49 (1,052 points)
2. High Jump – 1.82m/5-11 1/2 (1,003)
9. Shot Put – 11.86m/38-11 (652)
4. 200 Meters – 23.97w (984)
2. Long Jump – 6.23m/20-5 1/4 (921)
5. Javelin Throw – 37.10m/121-9 (612)
10. 800 Meters – 2:17.98 (851)
4. Payton Stumbaugh – 5,880 points
1. 100 Hurdles – 13.27 (1,084 points)
3. High Jump – 1.76m/5-9 1/4 (928)
15. Shot Put – 11.46m/37-7 1/4 (625)
1. 200 Meters – 23.65w (1,015)
5. Long Jump – 5.82m/19-1 1/4 (795)
12. Javelin Throw – 33.66m/110-5 (546)
7. 800 Meters – 2:15.39 (887)
5. Leigha Brown – 5,721 points
7. 100 Hurdles – 13.76 (1,013 points)
3. High Jump – 1.76m/5-9 1/4 (928)
7. Shot Put – 12.30m/40-4 1/4 (681)
8. 200 Meters – 24.65 (919)
9. Long Jump – 5.62m/18-5 1/4 (735)
11. Javelin Throw – 33.73m/110-8 (547)
4. 800 Meters – 2:14.60 (898)
— Kelsey Herman – 3,585 points (Day One Only)
6. 100 Hurdles – 13.59 (1,037 points)
2. High Jump – 1.70m/5-7 (855)
5. Shot Put – 12.69m/41-7 3/4 (707)
2. 200 Meters – 23.95w (986)
— Long Jump
— Javelin Throw
— 800 Meters
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
