No. 2 Arkansas On A Mission For Third NCAA Crown
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Two years ago Arkansas women’s track and field team made school history by becoming the first Razorbacks women’s program to win an NCAA team title with its victory at the 2015 indoor national championship. This weekend head coach Lance Harter’s squad will look to replicate its success, in search of a third national title at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station.
The two-day meet will be live streamed on ESPN3, prime time beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 10 and at 4:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 11. Fans are encouraged to follow along and join in the conversation by using the #NCAATF hash tag.
2017 NCAA Indoor Championships | College Station, Texas
Date/Time: Friday, March 10, 5:30 p.m. CT | Saturday, March 11, 4 p.m. CT
Venue: Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Tickets: $26 for Adults, $20 Youth (ages 2-12) Buy Here
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Start Lists | Live Results | WatchESPN Day 1 | WatchESPN Day 2
Arkansas Qualifiers
400 Meters – 4. Daina Harper, 51.77
Mile – 11. Nikki Hiltz, 4:35.10 | 15. Therese Haiss, 4:37.27
3,000 Meters – 11. Taylor Werner, 9:06.04
4-x-400-Meter Relay – 10. Watson, Birch, Swinton, Harper, 3:32.27
DMR – 5. Haiss, Harper, Birch, Hiltz, 10:57.93
Pole Vault – 1. Lexi Weeks, 4.60m/15-1 | 2. Tori Weeks, 4.57m-15-0 | 6. Desiree Freier, 4.35m/14-3 1/4
Long Jump – 9. Taliyah Brooks, 6.44m/21-1 1/2
Pentathlon – 2. Taliyah Brooks, 4,450 | 3. Leigha Brown, 4,379 | 5. Kelsey Herman, 4,278
Scoring Opportunities – Friday (5)
• 12:15 p.m. Pentathlon: Taliyah Brooks (SB: 4,450), Leigha Brown (SB: 4,379) and Kelsey Herman (SB: 4,278)
• 7:10 p.m. Long Jump: Taliyah Brooks (SB: 6.44m/21-1 1/2)
• 8:40 p.m. DMR (SB: 10:57.93)
A longtime conference-title contender Arkansas first broke through its NCAA track and field glass ceiling in 2000, earning the program’s first podium finish with 37 points for third place at the indoor championships. In the last six years the Razorbacks have reached the podium on four occasions with 2015 bringing their first gold and 2016 meriting a national silver.
Keeping Arkansas in the mix for team rewards once again will be a trio of pole vaulters including Desiree Freier, Lexi Weeks and Tori Weeks. The strongest assembly of vaulters on one team Freier and the Weeks sisters have the potential to pull in over 20 points for Arkansas from one event. Currently Lexi and Tori Weeks are the only collegians to reach a 15-foot bar this season. Although she has yet to post a 15-foot clearance, Freier heads into the meet ranked sixth in the nation off a 4.35m/14-3 1/4 season’s best. Freier has a career best of 4.45m/14-7 1/4.
In addition to the pole vault Arkansas will lean heavily on its multis, redshirt junior Taliyah Brooks charged with leading the talented group which features Leigha Brown and Kelsey Herman. Brooks, Brown and Herman all are among the top-five best performers of the pentathlon in the nation and will be the first Razorbacks with a chance to put some points on the board at the indoor national meet.
“We’re excited,” Harter said. “We’re in the conversation about gaining a trophy and anytime you can bring hardware home that’s very special. To have multiple potential scorers in the pole vault and the pentathlon is huge. We depend on those all the way. There’s no sure thing but when you have three ranked in the top-five or top-six you rely heavily on those events.”
Previous NCAA Finishes, Final Score
• 2016 – Second, 50 points | Winner, Oregon (53 points)
• 2015 – First, 63 points
• 2014 – Sixth, 30 points | Winner, Oregon (44 points)
• 2013 – Fourth, 42.5 points | Winner, Oregon (56 points)
• 2012 – Fifth, 25 points | Winner, Oregon (49 points)
The Razorbacks will open the NCAA Indoor Championship on Friday, March 10 at 12:15 p.m. CT with Brooks, Brown and Herman contesting the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles.
Arkansas will look to cap day one successfully with its distance medley relay team racing for big points to give the Razorbacks an edge heading into Saturday.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
