Lady?Backs set for SEC Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 13 Arkansas Lady Razorback track and field will head south to Auburn, Ala. and Auburn University for the 2008 SEC Championships this weekend. The four-day event will begin Thursday, May 15 and conclude Sunday, May 18.

Fox Sports will televise a tape-delayed broadcast of the 2008 SEC Championships Sunday, May 25, 6-8 p.m. CST. Complete details of the event, including the schedule and live results, can be found at www.auburntigers.com.

Arkansas sits at No. 13 in the current USTFCCCA ranking. The Lady’Backs are just one of six SEC schools ranked in the top 25 this week. Arkansas got a big boost in the rankings after then-nation-leading performances by Dacia Barr in the 1,500 meters and Katie Stripling in the pole vault two weeks ago.

While collecting three SEC Outdoor team titles, Arkansas boasts 44 SEC individual champions since 1992. A dominating amount of those titles have been won in the distance events. Since its addition to the schedule in 2001, the steeplechase has treated the Lady’Backs well. Of the seven years it has been contested, Arkansas harriers have won five of the titles, the last coming from current Lady’Back Tiffany Redlarczyk in 2006.

Barr will be looking to defend her 1,500-meter title won at the event in 2007. Barr, with the SEC’s leading time of 4:13.77, ranks No. 2 in the nation. She held the top spot in the nation until this weekend when a Florida State harrier dipped just below Barr’s time.

Arkansas athletes hold the SEC’s top mark in four events in Barr (1,500 meters and 5,000 meters), Catherine White (10,000 meters) and Katie Stripling (pole vault). Additionally, Arkansas athletes hold the conference’s second-best mark in four events in Christine Kalmer (5,000 meters), Denise Bargiachi (10,000 meters), Megan Jackson (steeplechase) and Stephanie Irwin (pole vault).

Of Arkansas’ 44 entries for this weekend, 17 of them are in the distance events. The Lady’Backs will have two entries in the 1,500 meters, nine in the 5K, three in the steeplechase and three in the 10K.

For complete recaps and results of the 2008 SEC Outdoor Championships, visit www.ladybacks.com.

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