No. 7 Women's @RazorbackTF Set to Face Elite Field at McCravy Memorial

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After defeating No. 5 Texas in dual meet action last weekend, the No. 3 Arkansas women’s track and field team will travel to Lexington, Ky. to compete against some of the nation’s best at the Rod McCravy Memorial (Jan. 23-24).

Arkansas is among 15 universities scheduled to compete this weekend. The No. 7 Razorbacks will battle seven teams ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Preseason Indoor Team Top 25 (released on Jan. 6), including No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 9 Florida State and No. 24 Missouri.

For the latest information on Arkansas women’s track and field, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.

UP NEXT
After the McCravy Memorial, the Razorbacks will return to the Randal Tyson Track Center to host the Razorback Invitational Jan. 30-31.

BROADCAST
Fans will be able to watch the Razorbacks in action during Saturday’s finale at this year’s Rod McCravy Memorial, as the second day of the competition will feature live streaming video on SEC Network+ and the WatchESPN App. The coverage will also feature highlights of Friday’s events from Nutter Field House.

BIG TIME MEET
The Rod McCravy Memorial is one of the premier meets of the indoor season. Alongside the 2014 NCAA Champion Oregon Ducks will be 2014 SEC Champions Florida (women) and Arkansas (men), Big 12 Women’s Champions Texas and ACC Men’s and Women’s Champion Florida State.

The Rod McCravy Memorial Track & Field Meet is certainly one of the nation’s leading competitions during the indoor season, and annually features some of the nation’s top performances throughout the campaign. In 2014, athletes turned in four world-leading, eight NCAA-leading and 47 NCAA Top 10 marks along with four school records in two days of action at the Nutter Field House.

LAST TIME OUT | ARKANSAS-TEXAS DUAL MEET
The No. 7 Arkansas women’s track and field team to a 96-72 dual victory over No. 5 Texas at the Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday night. The Razorbacks collected 11 wins, including seven NCAA-leading marks and a collegiate record, en route to the victory.

The night ended with Morris breaking the collegiate record (15-1; Kaitlin Petrillose, Texas, 2014) and the program record (14-11; Tina Sutej, 2012) in the pole vault. The senior nailed her final attempt of 15-1.50 to give her the NCAA record, the Arkansas record and the leading mark in the NCAA this season.

Sparkle McKnight (52.89), Chrishuna Williams (53.28) and Daina Harper (54.24) swept the top three spots in the women’s 400m. McKnight’s 52.89 gave her the event title and also gives her the top 400m time in the NCAA this season.

The trio of Dominique Scott (2:07.53), Therese Haiss (2:13.81) and Annika Sisson (2:16.20) finished 1-2-3 in 800m. Scott’s time was a personal-best and also made her the NCAA leader in the event.

Jessica Kamilos took the title in the 1,000 meter with a personal-record (2:47.92), while Diane Robison won the mile in 4:45.81, which was a personal-best and makes her the NCAA leader. Kaitlin Flattman crossed the finish line in 9:37.36 to win the 3,000 meter title, 11 seconds ahead of teammate Shannon Klenke, who finished in second place (9:48.54).

The distance medley relay team of Robison, Taliyah Brooks, Kamilos and Regan Ward earned a first-place finish at the Texas Dual and first-place nationally with a time of 11:37.35. Chrishuna Williams, Daina Harper, Brianna Swinton and McKnight teamed up to take home the 4×400 meter relay crown. The quartet finished the race in 3:36.90.

In high jump action, junior Alex Gochenour placed first with her personal-best 5-9.75. Senior Tamara Myers took the triple jump title and became the NCAA leader with 43-0.5.

SEC WEEKLY HONOR
Five-time All-America performer Sandi Morris was named Southeastern Conference Field Athlete of the Week the conference office announced on Jan. 20. This marked the second time in her career that Morris has earned a SEC indoor weekly honor.

The Greenville, S.C. native earned the award for her record-breaking performance in the pole vault that helped lead the No. 7 Arkansas women’s track and field team to a 96-72 dual victory over No. 5 Texas at the Randal Tyson Track Center on Friday night (Jan. 16). The Razorbacks collected 11 wins in the victory.

Entering the competition after all other vaulters had bowed out, Morris notched second-attempt clearances at both 14-1.25 and 14-7.25. For the second weekend in a row, she then moved the bar up to 15-1.5 (4.61m) to once more attempt a height one centimeter better than the collegiate record – this time with record-holder Kaitlin Petrilose (Texas) watching.

After missing on her first two tries, Morris nailed her third attempt and captured the collegiate and program record. Seventeen hours later the collegiate record was topped by Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin (15-2.25), so Morris ended the weekend with the program record and the No. 10 (tied) mark on the all-time U.S. indoor performers list.

USTFCCCA PRESEASON RANKINGS
For the fifth season in a row, the Arkansas women’s track and field program will begin the season ranked in the preseason top 10, as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ranked the Razorbacks No. 7 in its initial computer rankings that were released on Tuesday afternoon.

A nation-leading eight SEC teams are ranked among the nation’s top-25 on the women’s side, including five of the top seven. Florida is the preseason No. 1, while Texas A&M is No. 2 and Georgia is No. 4. Kentucky checks in at No. 6, the Razorbacks hold down the No. 7 spot, Auburn is ranked No. 18, Mississippi State is No. 20 and Missouri is No. 24.

HALL OF FAME
In recognition of his standout career, University of Arkansas women’s cross country and track and field head coach Lance Harter was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches Hall of Fame on Monday, Dec. 15.

Harter, in his 25th year as the Razorback women’s cross country and track and field head coach, was one of six members of the Class of 2014 inductees and was joined by Chris Daymont, Tom Donnelly, Joey Haines, Ed Nuttycombe and the late Johnny Thomas. The 2014 USTFCCCA Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place Monday, Dec. 15, at the organization’s annual convention in Phoenix.

Through his 25 year career at Arkansas, Harter has led the Razorbacks to 14 NCAA top-five finishes, including four national cross country runner-up performances, and 23 Southeastern Conference (SEC) team titles, including the most recent addition with the 2014 cross country title at Agri Park. Individually, Harter’s Razorback student-athletes have won 15 NCAA event titles and 134 conference event titles.

As a reflection of his Arkansas success on the national level, Harter has been named the USTFCCCA National Coach of the Year on three occasions and SEC Coach of the Year for each of his team’s 23 titles. The Razorbacks’ conference titles including 15 cross country, four indoor track and field and four outdoor track and field crowns. During the 2013-14 athletic season, Arkansas won two—cross country, outdoor track and field—of the three SEC legs.

Prior to his days in Fayetteville, Harter won 13 Division II national team titles at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo which still stands as the fifth-largest collection by a Division II coach in any sport. Individually, he guided his student-athletes to 30 national event titles in his time at Cal Poly-SLO.

In addition to numerous other national and regional coaching awards, Harter has previously been inducted into the Arkansas Hall of Honor, Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame and Cal Poly Hall of Fame. On the international level, Harter served as the assistant coach for Team USA at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and head coach of Team USA at the 1999 IAAF World Championship in Seville, Spain.

A LOOK BACK AT THE 2014 INDOOR SEASON
Head coach Lance Harter and his Razorbacks finished in sixth place at the 2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. Following the national meet, Arkansas earned 19 All-American honors, highlighted by the national champion distance medley relay team of Grace Heymsfield, Chrishuna Williams, Stephanie Brown and Dominique Scott. The top-seeded distance medley relay team made Arkansas history by winning the first-ever distance-medley relay title for the Razorbacks in 11:05.83.

Arkansas took third at the 2014 SEC Indoor Championships, finishing with 93.5 points, behind first-place Florida (102) and Texas A&M in second (96.5). The third-place finished marked the seventh-consecutive year the Razorbacks have finished in the top three at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Fayetteville, the “Track Capital of the World”, will be at the center of the track and field universe on the weekend of March 13-14 as the Razorbacks will host the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center, the home of the “Fastest Indoor Track in the World”. Since the facility’s opening in 2000, Arkansas and the Randal Tyson Track Center have hosted the event 11 times, including nine straight seasons and 11 of the last 13 championships.

A two-day, all-session ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships is $40 for reserved seating and $30 for general admission adult ticket.

Season tickets and NCAA all-session passes are available online at HERE, by contacting the Razorback Athletics Ticket Center via phone at (800) 982-HOGS or in person at the Razorback Athletics Ticket Center, located just east of Baum Stadium at 1295 S. Razorback Rd. in Fayetteville.