Women's track returns to Penn Relays

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 18 Arkansas Razorback women’s track and field will continue the 2010 outdoor season with the Penn Relays, Thurs.-Sat., April 22-24, at Franklin Field, in Philadelphia, Pa. The Razorbacks will compete in numerous relay events, Thursday’s distance carnival, the hurdle races and select field events.

In the current USTFCCCA rankings, the Razorbacks are listed at No. 18. Arkansas is one of six SEC schools in the top 25. LSU is No. 2, Florida is No. 5, Auburn is No. 11, South Carolina is No. 22 and Tennessee is No. 24. The 4×400-meter relay (Shelise Williams, Regina George, Edina Brooks and Whitney Jones) leads the NCAA and SEC in the event. On the SEC level, senior Katie Stripling and sophomore Tina Sutej, with clearances of 14-1.25, lead the pole vault.

Since the start of the outdoor season, Arkansas has picked up four weekly awards from the SEC. George was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on March 30. Stephanie Brown was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on April 6. Williams was named the SEC Runner of the Week and Sutej was named the SEC Field Athlete of the Week on April 13.

Last weekend, Arkansas took its best middle distance and distance runners to the Mt. SAC Relays Distance Carnival, in Walnut, Calif. on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College. In the Olympic Development section of the 1,500 meters, sophomore Kristen Gillespie finished fifth and clocked a personal-best time of 4:22.56. Her time ranks fourth in the SEC. Brown finished ninth and clocked a personal-best time of 4:24.71. Her time ranks sixth in the SEC.

Sophomore Cali George finished 10th in the Olympic Development section of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She clocked a personal-best time of 10:43.25. Her time ranks No. 3 in the SEC. George has shaved more than 20 seconds off her PR in the last two weeks.

Junior Miranda Walker finished 11th in the invitational section of the 10,000 meters. She clocked an SEC-leading time of 34:58.50. Sophomore Samantha Learch finished 30th in the university/open section of the 5,000 meters. In her first collegiate 5K race, she clocked a time of 17:33.10.

Download: 4.22-24.10 Penn Relays.pdf