Robert Black

No. 2 Razorbacks Pursue NCAA West Success

Meet Schedule | NCAA West Start List | Meet Info

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 2 Arkansas women’s track and field team will travel to Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend for the 2016 NCAA West Preliminary, hosted by the University of Kansas at the brand new Rock Chalk Park outdoor stadium.

The top 12 qualifiers in each event from the two preliminary meets advance to compete June 8-11 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The NCAA East Preliminary is also being contested this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. A live stream of the competition will be available to fans on Thursday, May 26 at 4:25 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 27 at 4:55 p.m. and Saturday, May 28 at 5:55 p.m.

Live results can be found in the NCAA West Preliminary home page.

Arkansas heads into the regional competition with the most qualifiers in the country with 24 student-athletes collecting 33 entries in 12 events and two relays.

The Razorbacks’ entries are headlined by Dominique Scott-Efurd who ranks as the top performer in the country in the 5K and 10K. A national runner-up in both events last season, Scott-Efurd leads both distance races by a dominant 12 second margin over the next best collegiate performers.

Other notable Razorbacks include senior leaders Taylor Ellis-Watson (400) and Jessica Kamilos (3K steeplechase). Both student-athletes are the No. 2 performers in their respective events in the West region.

Newcomer Payton Stumbaugh heads into the weekend as the best high-hurdles entry as the Oklahoma transfer currently has the third-best performance in the NCAA with her program record of 12.83 seconds.

2015 NCAA Qualifiers – Returners
Taliyah Brooks – Qualified in two events (100H, heptathlon) during her freshman season. Has the potential to add a third to her workload this year following a breakthrough in the long jump (PR: 20-11 ¾).
Taylor Ellis-Watson – Finished 2015 as the fourth best 400 sprinter in the country. Enters her final NCAA regional meet ranked No. 2 in the event in the NCAA.
Alex Gochenour – Advanced to Eugene last year in the 100H and heptathlon. Currently one of only 14 NCAA high-hurdlers with a sub-13 time this season.
Nikki Hiltz – Finished just outside the top-10 in the 1,500 during her freshman season (with Oregon) earning second team All-America honors.
Jessica Kamilos – Qualified last year in the 3K steeplechase but was sidelined due to injury. Kamilos heads into the 2016 regional meet as the No. 3 best performer in the NCAA.
Dominique Scott-Efurd – Scored 16 points solo in 2015 with runner-up performances in the 5K and 10K. The three-time national champion has since improved on both times and currently leads the NCAA in both events.
Ariel Voskamp – Placed among the top-8 best pole vaulters in the NCAA two years in a row.
4-x-400 relay – Arkansas returns three of the four sixth-place finishing relay team from last season including Rllis-Watson, Daina Harper and Brianna Swinton (Regine Williams out for the season).

Thursday, May 26
4:30 p.m. | 400H (prelims) – D. Birch, L. Brown, B. Swinton
5:30 p.m. | 1,500 (prelims) – T. Haiss, N. Hiltz, A. Sisson
6:30 p.m. | 100 (prelims) – K. Parker
6:45 p.m. | Long jump – T. Brooks, K. Herman
7:20 p.m. | 400 (prelims) – M. Dobbins, T. Ellis-Watson, D. Harper
8:10 p.m. | 800 (prelims) – C. Watson
9:40 p.m. | 10K (semifinal) – D. Scott-Efurd

Friday, May 27
5:00 p.m. | Pole vault – A. Voskamp, L. Weeks, T. Weeks, M. Zimlich
5:00 p.m. | 100H (prelims) – T. Brooks, A. Gochenour, K. Herman, P. Stumbaugh
6:00 p.m. | 400 (quarterfinals)
6:30 p.m. | 100 (quarterfinals)
7:00 p.m. | 800 (quarterfinals)
7:30 p.m. | 400H (quarterfinals)
8:50 p.m. | 3K steeple (quarterfinals) – D. Clark, J. Kamilos

Saturday, May 28
3:30 p.m. | Shot put – M. Dennis
6:00 p.m. | 4-x-100 relay – Arkansas A
6:30 p.m. | 1,500 (quarterfinals)
7:05 p.m. | 100H (quarterfinals)
8:05 p.m. | 5K (semifinal) – V. Reina, D. Scott-Efurd
9:25 p.m. | 4-x-400 relay – Arkansas A

Italicized events require qualification.

Heptathlon performers Taliyah Brooks, Leigha Brown, Alex Gochenour and Stumbaugh advanced directly to NCAA final round based on finishing the season inside the top 24.

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.