L. Weeks’ Vault Highlights Home Opener
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 1 Arkansas women’s track and field team started the day strong at their home opener with a top-three sweep in the women’s high jump. The Razorbacks continued their dominance in the vertical jumps placing four vaulters in the top five of the pole vault.
Freshman Lexi Weeks posted an SEC and NCAA leading performance in the pole vault clearing a height of 4.50m/14-9 to win the event by almost a foot. Weeks and her sister Tori, who cleared 4.20m/13-9.25 to finish second, are sitting at the top of the leaderboard among conference and national competitors.
All-American multi-events duo Taliyah Brooks and Alex Gochenour cruised to a first and second place finish in the high jump respectively. Brooks took the spot with a clearance of 1.75m/5-8.75m. Freshman Carmen Sitz rounded out the top three finishing third for the Razorbacks with a jump of 1.70m/5-7 in her collegiate debut.
Brooks returned to action on the track leading five Razorbacks into the finals of the 60-meter hurdle including Leigha Brown, Gochenour, Kelsey Herman and Payton Stumbaugh. Brooks and Stumbaugh went head to head in the finals pushing each other to new PRs and SEC leading times of 8.22 and 8.25 respectively.
Middletown, Ohio native Micah Dennis blew away competition in the shot put with a mark of 14.27m/46-10. Dennis’ throw was over 10 feet further than the runner-up from Tulsa who marked 10.79m/35-5.
Junior Daina Harper raced to a second place finish in the 400-meter dash. Harper, who was a member of the 2015 NCAA indoor 4×400-meter relay runner-up team crossed the line in 55.31. Brianna Swinton also claimed a spot in the top five as she placed fourth with her time of 56.59.
Oregon transfer Nikki Hiltz was the top collegiate finisher in the 1,000-meter run in 2:45.94. Hiltz was led out by former Arkansas All-Americans Stephanie Brown and Chrishuna Williams who placed first and second respectively.
Arkansas collected more solid performances in the middle distance events as four Razorbacks split the top two places in the 800-meter run and the mile. Jessica Kamilos and Kailee Sawyer put forth strong efforts at 800 meters while Regan Ward and Annika Sisson dominated the mile as the only two sub-5:00 performers. Sisson also finished third earlier in the day in the 600-meter run behind teammate Ceara Watson who won the event in 1:32.72.
Two-time NCAA indoor runner-up Taylor Ellis-Watson kicked off her season with a win at 200 meters in 23.39. Oklahoma transfer Stumbaugh continued her strong day finishing just behind Ellis-Watson in 23.79.
The Razorbacks capped their opening night with a victory in the 4×400-meter relay over Texas Tech. Harper led off for the group providing a strong lead for Brooks and Sawyer to capitalize on. Gochenour brought home the win crossing the finish in 3:43.36.
Arkansas will split up next weekend for competition at the New Mexico Invitational and Gladstein Invitational (Indiana) on Jan. 23-24.
2016 Arkansas Invitational
Randal Tyson Track Center
Fayetteville, Ark.
200 Meters
Taylor Ellis-Watson (1) – 23.39
Payton Stumbaugh (2) – 23.79
Brianna Swinton (4) – 24.22
Taliyah Brooks (7) – 24.45
Kelsey Herman (8) – 24.54
Alex Gochenour (9) – 24.72
Leigha Brown (10) – 25.16
Monisa Dobbins (13) – 25.27
Kaylee McCarthy (20) – 25.95
400 Meters
Daina Harper (2) – 55.31
Brianna Swinton (4) – 56.59
Monisa Dobbins (8) – 57.16
600 Meters
Ceara Watson (1) – 1:32.72
Annika Sisson (3) – 1:33.30
800 Meters
Jessica Kamilos (1) – 2:10.50
Kailee Sawyer (2) – 2:13.44
1,000 Meters
Nikki Hiltz (3) – 2:45.94
Valerie Reina (5) – 2:51.41
Mile
Regan Ward (1) – 4:51.21
Annika Sisson (2) – 4:58.90
Samantha Mohler (4) – 5:03.30
Unattached | Micah Huckabee (5) – 5:03.59
Chandler Crumblish (6) – 5:04.56
Kelsey Schrader (8) – 5:06.04
Logan Bishop (9) – 5:09.03
Unattached | Sabrina Herrmann (14) – 5:15.97
Grace Taylor (16) – 5:21.08
Unattached | Kristen Larkan (18) – 5:27.90
60 Meter Hurdles Prelims
Taliyah Brooks – 8.33
Kelsey Herman – 8.37
Payton Stumbaugh – 8.53
Alex Gochenour – 8.67
Leigha Brown – 8.76
60 Meter Hurdle Finals
Taliyah Brooks (1) – 8.22
Payton Stumbaugh (2) – 8.25
Kelsey Herman (3) – 8.37
Alex Gochenour (4) – 8.54
Leigha Brown (7) – 8.90
4×400 Meter Relay
Arkansas (1) – 3:43.36 (Harper, Brooks, Sawyer, Gochenour)
High Jump
Taliyah Brooks (1) – 1.75m/5-8.75
Alex Gochenour (2) – 1.70m/5-7
Carmen Sitz (3) – 1.70m/5-7
Leigha Brown (6) – 1.65m/5-5
Alyssa Parker (8) – 1.55m/5-1
Pole Vault
Lexi Weeks (1) – 4.50m/14-9
Tori Weeks (2) – 4.20m/13-9.25
Ariel Voskamp (3) – 4.10m/13-5.25
Megan Zimlich (4) – 3.85m/12-7.50
Ariel Lachance (8) – 3.70m/12-1.50
Emily Bates (9) – 3.55m/11-7.75
Rylee Robinson (10) – 3.55m/11-7.75
Stephanie Diettinger (13)
Long Jump
Kelsey Herman (4) – 5.79m/19-0
Rachel Jantzi (14) – 5.15m/16-10.75
Triple Jump
Rachel Jantzi (6) – 10.47m/34-4.25
Shot Put
Micah Dennis (1) – 14.27m/46-10
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
