Lady'Backs open outdoor season
FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas Lady Razorback track team opens its outdoor season on Saturday afternoon at the Jim Click Shoot-Out in Tucson, Ariz.
The Lady Razorbacks are just two weeks away from a solid finish at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships, but a majority of the team has been off from competition since the Southeastern Conference Championships at the end of February where Arkansas placed fourth.
“I have known the coach at the University of Arizona for years and he has been asking me to come to this meet,” Arkansas head coach Lance Harter said. “They invite two teams from the SEC, Pac 10 and Big 12 and score the meet based on their conference affiliations. This should be a good way to start the season.”
The Lady Razorbacks will team with the South Carolina women at the meet as they face the host Arizona and California from the Pac 10 and Texas Tech and Kansas State from the Big 12. On the men’s side, Florida teams with South Carolina to represent the SEC.
Arkansas is hoping to work its way slowly into the outdoor season at the Jim Click Shoot-Out. The distance team plans to race in some off events to prepare for upcoming competitions while the sprint crew plans to run in multiple competitions to improve strength. While many outstanding times and marks have been associated with the Tucson track over the years, the Lady’Backs are hoping to notch several regional qualifiers.
The Lady Razorbacks bring 25 student-athletes to the meet with many scheduled to tackle multiple events. Multi-eventer Etienne Chaplin is scheduled to be the busiest athlete for Arkansas as she is entered in four events in what is a very compact schedule. Chaplin is planning to compete in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, long jump and javelin all in a span of three hours. The meet schedule is just six hours long beginning with the long throws at 10:00 a.m. and ending with the 4×400-meter relay at 3:55 p.m.
For more information about Lady Razorback track or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.
