Sutej wins pole vault at Texas A&M

FAYETTEVILLE – Sophomore Tina Sutej won the pole vault and the middle distance runners picked up NCAA times for No. 10 Arkansas Razorback women’s track and field on day two of the Texas A&M SEC-Big 12-PAC-10 Challenge, in College Station, on Saturday.

"Once again, some of our younger competitors really shined," head coach Lance Harter said. "Tina Sutej is finding a real rhythm in the pole vault. Stephanie Brown had a great run in the mile after a few good 800-meter races. Kristen Gillespie showed some toughness in the 800 meters. Regina George clocked an NCAA time in the open 400 meters, too. Megan Jackson, one of our few seniors, had a big personal best in the 3K and she made a big break through today. We are still working towards SECs and NCAAs but I like the progress I’ve seen so far."

Sutej cleared 13-11.25 to win the pole vault. Her clearance is an NCAA auto qualifier and is just off her season- and personal-best height of 14-2. She led a 1-3-5 finish for Arkansas in the event with senior Katie Stripling third (13-8.25) and senior Janice Keppler fifth (12-11.5).

Senior Megan Jackson finished seventh in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:35.72. Her clocking is a 10-second personal best and ranks third in the SEC.

Freshman Regina George, in her first open 400-meter race, earned a runner-up finish with a time of 54.31. Her clocking is an NCAA provisional qualifier, ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 13 in the NCAA. She led a 2-6-10 finish for Arkansas in the event with senior Karen Thomas finishing sixth (55.11) and junior Edina Brooks 10th (55.69). Brooks’ time is a season best.

Sophomore Kristen Gillespie finished fourth in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:07.32. Her clocking is an NCAA provisional time and ranks No. 5 in the SEC. She led a 4-7-9 finish for Arkansas in the event with sophomore Samantha Learch finishing seventh (2:10.02) and freshman Natanya Luther finishing ninth (2:13.03).

Sophomore Stephanie Brown earned a runner-up finish in the mile. Already holding a provisional qualifier in the 800 meters, she added a provisional time in the mile to her docket. She clocked a 4:46.40 and ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 2 in the NCAA among freshmen runners.

Also in the mile, freshman Taylor Johnson clocked a personal-best time of 4:54.80 to finish eighth. Freshman Cali George finished 13th with a time of 5:07.42.

Junior Shantel Thompson finished ninth in the long jump (18-10). Freshman Gwendolyn Flowers clocked a 25.61 to finished 19th in the 200 meters. Freshman Martine Borge was 11th in the 600 yards (1:26.51). Sophomore Brittany Hyter ran times of 8.77 and 8.75 in the prelims and the finals (sixth) of the 60-meter hurdles. Freshman Makeba Alcide finished 17th in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles (9.23) and 17th in the long jump (16-6).

This evening in Fayetteville, Stripling will be honored with a scholar-athlete award at the annual Red Tie Awards dinner.

Arkansas will compete next Feb. 5-6 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, at the Armory Track Center, in New York, N.Y.