Head coach Lance Harter celebrates Arkansas’ conference triple crown in front of its home crowd as the SEC outdoor champions.
Razorbacks run away from field to win SEC Championships
FAYETTEVILLE — For the eighth time in school history, Arkansas’ women’s track & field team claimed the SEC Outdoor Championship, doing so for the first time at home at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville.
The No. 1 Razorbacks accumulated an impressive 139.5 points to take the conference crown and complete the seventh triple crown in program history.
The title also marks the 15th SEC championship in the last 16 attempts across cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field.
Arkansas finished the meet with five event champions, four coming on the final day of competition.
The 4×100-meter relay team started the running events with a bang, putting together a school record 43.11 to set the tone for the evening.
The Razorbacks held a lead after Kiara Parker and Payton Chadwick made up the stagger and Janeek Brown handed off to Kethlin Campbell on the final straightway, but Campbell couldn’t hold on with LSU in the next lane to earn a runner-up finish.
Their time was the third fastest among NCAA West qualifying teams this season and passes the previous school record set in 2018 of 43.26, which Parker and Brown ran first and third legs on, respectively.
Brown & Chadwick swept the top two spots in the 100-meter hurdles, claiming 18 points for the Razorbacks.
Brown blazed over the hurdles for a personal-best and facility record 12.55 to take the title, breaking her own school record to give her the No. 1 time in the world in 2019.
With the performance, she became the fifth-best performer in collegiate history and her 12.55 equaled the No. 7 performance all-time among the collegiate ranks.
A lane to Brown’s right, Chadwick stayed on her hip throughout the race and recorded a PR at 12.70, giving Arkansas the top two marks in the West so far this season.
Chadwick bested Brown later in the night in the 200-meter dash, as Chadwick tallied an outdoor-best 23.08 for fourth, while Brown came in fifth at 23.12, picking up an extra nine points from the event while also giving Chadwick the No. 14 time in the West.
Not to be outdone by her other relay members, Campbell returned for the 400-meter dash and won the individual championship with a personal-best 51.03 from lane eight.
The mark smashed her previous PR of 51.83 set at the LSU Alumni Gold meet earlier this year on April 20, and kept her atop the leaderboard among West qualifiers.
Sophomore Taylor Werner and freshman Lauren Gregory went 1-2 in the 5,000 meters, crossing the line a half a second apart.
Werner, who also won the SEC Indoor 5,000-meter race, set the facility record with a time of 15:51.08, while Gregory posted a mark of 15:51.58.
Junior Devin Clark took fifth in the event at 16:03.44, racking up 22 points to pad the lead.
To cap another impressive SEC meet, the 4×400-meter relay team recorded a season-best 3:29.22, as well as the fifth fastest time in school history, to win the championship.
Paris Peoples and Parker put together a strong first two legs, then Chadwick took their progress and moved into the lead before handing off to Campbell, who barreled around the track and brought home the gold for the Razorbacks and improved their fastest time in the West in the event.
Five Razorbacks scored in the 1,500-meter run, with junior Carina Viljoen leading the charge with a second-place finish at 4:17.81, just edged out at the line by 0.52 seconds.
Werner and Gregory paced the group for the first three laps of the event, crossing the finish line at 4:20.40 & 4:21.04, respectively, to finish fourth and fifth.
Two more Hogs followed shortly behind in senior Sydney Brown (4:21.83) and freshman Meghan Underwood (4:23.68) to give Arkansas a combined 22 points in the event.
In the 100-meter dash, Parker, the final Razorback of the 4×100-meter relay quartet, posted a third-place time at 11.19, giving her a season-best mark with a wind just above the legal limit at +2.1.
Postseason track & field continues with a trip to Sacramento, California, for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships on May 23-25.
4×100-Meter Relay
2nd – Kiara Parker, Payton Chadwick, Janeek Brown, Kethlin Campbell – 43.11 SB, School Record
1,500-Meter Run
2nd – Carina Viljoen – 4:17.81
4th – Taylor Werner – 4:20.40
5th – Lauren Gregory – 4:21.04
6th – Sydney Brown – 4:21.83
7th – Meghan Underwood – 4:23.68
9th – Maddy Reed – 4:25.07
100-Meter Hurdles
1st – Janeek Brown – 12.55 PB, Facility Record, School Record, No. 1 in the World in 2019, 7th all-time collegiate time
2nd – Payton Chadwick – 12.70 PB
400-Meter Dash
1st – Kethlin Campbell – 51.03 PB, 4th in school history
High Jump
13th – J’Alyiea Smith – 1.70m (5-7)
100-Meter Dash
3rd – Kiara Parker – 11.19 SB w(+2.1)
200-Meter Dash
4th – Payton Chadwick – 23.08 PB
5th – Janeek Brown – 23.12
5,000-Meter Run
1st – Taylor Werner – 15:51.08 Facility Record
2nd – Lauren Gregory – 15:51.58
5th – Devin Clark – 16:03.44
N/A – Carina Viljoen – DNF
N/A – Sydney Brown – DNF
4×400-Meter Relay
1st – Paris Peoples, Kiara Parker, Payton Chadwick, Kethlin Campbell – 3:29.22 SB, 5TH Fastest in School History
Late homer drops Razorbacks in series finale against LSU on Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE — After LSU scoreless through seven innings and with a 2-0 lead, fourth-ranked Arkansas looked primed for its fourth conference series sweep Saturday afternoon.
However, a three-run home run in the eighth inning by Antoine Duplantis turned the tides and helped LSU defeat Arkansas, 3-2, at Baum-Walker Stadium, allowing the Tigers to salvage what was already a series loss.
Arkansas (39-13, 19-8 SEC) scratched across a run in the first and sixth innings against LSU (31-21, 15-12 SEC) starter Landon Marceaux and held that 2-0 lead all the way until the eighth inning.
Unfortunately, in the fourth and sixth innings, Arkansas had runners in scoring position with nobody out and were unable to bring any extra runs across to pad its lead.
In the fourth, Dominic Fletcher and Heston Kjerstad both led off the frame with singles, but a double play in the next at-bat erased the big inning chance.
Then, in the sixth, Matt Goodheart led off with a double and scored in the next at-bat on a Dominic Fletcher double.
After the run, Marceaux walked Kjerstad and gave way to the bullpen, allowing Todd Peterson to come in and face Jack Kenley with two on and no outs.
Kenley singled to load the bases, but Jacob Nesbit grounded out in the next at-bat as LSU got the force out at home.
That was followed by Casey Opitz grounded into the inning-ending double play, leaving a zero on the scoreboard after starting with three men on and nobody out.
Arkansas will remain at the top of the SEC Western Division standings after Saturday’s loss.
With a two-game lead over Mississippi State heading into Saturday night’s slate of games, Arkansas will have no worse than a one-game lead going into next week’s season finale at No. 18 Texas A&M.
The Razorback pitching staff was a bright spot in Saturday’s game as starter Connor Noland threw 5.1 scoreless innings with four hits scattered and no walks with three strikeouts.
Cody Scroggins followed in the middle of the sixth, giving up just one hit over two innings, but he walked three and, eventually, game-tying baserunner before Duplantis’s homer in the eighth.
For Noland, he’s thrown five or more innings in three of his last four starts and still hasn’t walked more than one batter in his last nine outings.
Combined in his last five starts, Noland has struck out 24 batters and given up only four earned runs, which all came in last week’s start at Kentucky.
Offensively, the Hogs scattered eight hits in the game, two each off the bats of Fletcher and Kjerstad. Fletcher finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, while Kjerstad was 2-for-3 with a walk as both of his hits were singles.
Fletcher now has 21 doubles for the year, which continues to lead the SEC. The Arkansas school record for doubles in a season is 28 set by Jim Kremers in 1987.
Up next
Arkansas hits the road for its final regular-season series next week as it travels to College Station, Texas to face the Texas A&M Aggies in a three-game series starting on Thursday at Blue Bell Park.
First pitch for game one is slated for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.
Noland, Opitz, Fletcher recapping Saturday’s missed chances
Arkansas pitcher Connor Noland, catcher Casey Opitz and centerfielder Dominic Fletcher talked about their missed chances against LSU, but look ahead.
Van Horn on Hogs’ missed opportunities in 3-2 loss to LSU
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was disappointed his team couldn’t break away from the Tigers on Saturday when they had chances to in the loss.
Boit runs through field to pace Hogs to third-place SEC finish
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ men’s track and field team put together a third-place overall finish at the 2019 SEC Outdoor Championships on Saturday night at John McDonnell Field.
The Razorbacks posted 91 points as a unit and marked back-to-back years to earn a third-place score.
The finish of the 5,000-meter run brought the packed house at John McDonnell Field to its feet, as junior Gilbert Boit won the individual title with a time of 13:54.76.
Coming down the final straightaway, Boit split teammate Cameron Griffith and Alabama’s Gilbert Kigen on the track and crossed the finish line in first to complete the indoor/outdoor conference 5,000-meter run sweep.
Griffith and sophomore Matt Young finished third and fourth, respectively, with times of 13:55.05 and 13:57.97. Arkansas totaled 21 points from the 5,000-meter race.
Earlier in the evening, Griffith posted a second-place finish in the 1,500-meter run at 3:48.81 to earn eight points. It marks back-to-back years he’s taken the silver medal in the event, running 3:47.02 last year, and the third consecutive year to score in the run.
The 4×100-meter relay kicked things off on the track and took home bronze behind a season-best 39.26. The quartet of Josh Oglesby, Rashad Boyd, Kris Hari & Roy Ejiakuewku moved up to No. 6 among NCAA West qualifying times heading into the weekend while earning six points toward the team standings.
John Winn, Hunter Woodhall, Jalen Brown and Rhayko Schwartz comprised the 4×400-meter relay, which also finished third and posted a time of 3:03.53. The squad’s time was a season-best and moved Arkansas up to fifth among relay qualifying teams in the West Region.
Sophomore Hunter Woodhall brought home fourth in the 400-meter dash at 46.22, a personal-best, giving him five points. It’s the fastest by a Razorback this season in the event and puts him at 18th among West qualifiers this season.
Later, fellow sophomore Kieran Taylor also notched a fourth-place mark in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:48.34 for another five-spot.
Junior Laquan Nairn posted a fifth-place finish in the triple jump in the afternoon portion of the day. He made the final of the event with a leap of 15.25m (50-0.5) on his third attempt, putting him in eighth.
After moving down to ninth before the final round of jumps, Nairn landed in the pit at 15.68m (51-5.5) with his final mark to take fifth and pick up four points for the team.
In the 110-meter hurdles, senior Shakiel Chattoo clocked a PR and a sixth-place time at 13.71 to earn three points for the squad. His time propels him up to No. 5 in the NCAA West heading into the weekend competition.
unior Travean Caldwell took eighth in the 400-meter hurdles at 50.86 to add another point for the Razorbacks.
Postseason track & field continues with a trip to Sacramento, California, for the NCAA West Preliminary Championships on May 23-25.
Discus Throw
9th – Erich Sullins – 51.05m (167-6)
Triple Jump
5th – Laquan Nairn – 15.68m (51-5.5) PB
4×100-Meter Relay
3rd – Josh Oglesby, Rashad Boyd, Kris Hari, Roy Ejiakuekwu – 39.26 SB
1,500-Meter Run
2nd – Cameron Griffith – 3:48.81
12th – Ethan Moehn – 3:56.23
110-Meter Hurdles
6th – Shakiel Chattoo – 13.71 PB
9th – Carl Elliott III – 13.83
400-Meter Dash
4th – Hunter Woodhall – 46.22 PB
800-Meter Run
4th – Kieran Taylor – 1:48.34
400-Meter Hurdles
8th – Travean Caldwell – 50.86
5,000-Meter Run
1st – Gilbert Boit – 13:54.46
3rd – Cameron Griffith – 13:55.05
4th – Matt Young – 13:57.97
10th – Austen Dalquist – 14:18.76
11th – Colin O’Mara – 14:21.03
17th – Kyle Levermore – 14:34.62
31st – Preston Cates – 14:50.62
32nd – Ethan Moehn – 14:52.52
4×400-Meter Relay
3rd – John Winn, Hunter Woodhall, Jalen Brown, Rhayko Schwartz – 3:03.53 SB
Big innings late propel Razorbacks past LSU for first time since ’11
FAYETTEVILLE — With a two-run seventh and a six-run eighth inning, Arkansas ran away with an 11-6 victory over LSU on Friday night in Baum-Walker Stadium.
It’s the second-straight game that the Hogs have scored 10 or more runs and first series win over LSU since 2011.
After falling behind 3-0 after the first two innings, Arkansas (39-12, 19-7 SEC) crept its way back into the game with single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
The breakthrough finally came in the seventh when Casey Martin’s RBI single to left field allowed Trevor Ezell to score the go-ahead run to make it 4-3.
The Razorbacks went on to score seven more times to grow its lead to 11-3., while the pitching staff held LSU’s offense in check, allowing only four baserunners in the third through eighth innings.
With the win, this year’s Razorbacks are now tied with the 2004 team for the most conference victories in the Dave Van Horn era dating back to 2003.
It’s also the third-straight year that Arkansas has 18 or more games in league play.
All nine of Arkansas’ starters recorded at least one of the Hogs’ 12 hits in the game. Dominic Fletcher, Heston Kjerstad and Casey Opitz all turned in two-hit performances with Fletcher driving in a team-best three RBIs.
Kjerstad notched his 11th multi-RBI game of the year, driving in two runs, including one off a big solo home run in the sixth inning to tie the game at 3-3.
On the mound, freshman Patrick Wicklander didn’t have his best stuff, but only gave up three runs in 3.1 innings, striking out four.
The Razorback bullpen were the stars of the night as the Kevin Kopps and Jacob Kostyshock combo held the Tigers to just one hit in 4.2 innings, while striking out five.
Kopps picked up his fifth victory of the year after throwing four scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Kopps entered the game in the middle of the fourth inning after LSU had loaded the bases with one out and a 3-1 lead, looking for insurance runs. Kopps stopped that momentum in its tracks, inducing the 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning with no runs crossing the plate.
Hogs win first series over Tigers since 2011
For the first time eight years, Arkansas has won a regular-season series over LSU after its five-run victory Friday night.
It’s the first series victory since 2011 and a win on Saturday would also be the first sweep of the Tigers since the same year. The Razorbacks have combined for 25 runs in the first two games of the series and are hitting .370 as a team with six home runs and a .671 slugging percentage.
Arkansas has scored 10 or more runs in seven of their last 12 SEC games and have had a winning margin of five or more runs in five of those games.
Fletcher continues torrid doubles pace
Junior Dominic Fletcher picked up his 20th double of the season as part of his two-hit game, driving in two of Arkansas’ final runs in the eighth inning.
Fletcher now takes sole possession of first in the SEC in doubles, just one ahead of teammate Casey Martin.
Fletcher has three doubles in his last eight games and its his first season with 20 or more doubles in his career.
Kjerstad matches home run total from 2018
Outfielder Heston Kjerstad mashed his 14th home run of the season in the sixth inning Friday night, which matches his total from a year ago, giving him 28 for his career.
It took Kjerstad 11 less games to reach the 14 homer mark this year and his longball total is good for second in the league.
The Amarillo, Texas, native is hitting .342 in his last 10 games with four home runs and 11 RBIs. He’s now hitting .330 for the year, good for second on the team with 44 RBIs.
Razorback quotables
“I thought they both did a great job. Obviously (Kevin) Kopps came in and settled it down for us. When he got behind in the counts — Kopps — it just seemed like he could make a good pitch. Then, (Jacob) Kostyshock came in and I thought he spotted his fastball really well. It was running. He’s got a little bit of a knack to get out left-handed hitters and he did it again today.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Kevin Kopps and Jacob Kostyshock
“Yeah, in 2011, that was the game (James) McCann hit the grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when we were down – what, three? – something like that, and then we went on to sweep them. Sometimes a big hit like that can change a whole series. It feels good to win the series. We’re not satisfied. We’re going to do everything we can to win tomorrow.” — Van Horn on winning the first series over LSU since 2011
“We felt like we were going to win the game. We’d come all the way back, they had stranded some runners and we felt like (Zack) Hess was starting to lose a little bit of his fastball. He’s got a great one. He’s going from 95, 96, 97 to 93. That’s a big difference. We’ve seen a lot of that this year. They (LSU) still have some weapons down there.” — Van Horn on Heston Kjerstad’s sixth-inning homer being the turning point
“That was huge to have a guy come out of the bullpen like that and slam the door. You know (Kevin) Kopps has done that multiple times this year but he came in and the bases were loaded, basically, a tough spot for anyone to come into as a pitcher, and he pitched it well. He got the ground-ball, turned into the double play and that was huge to give us a little bit of momentum. He was doing work out there and we just wanted to help him out.”
— Heston Kjerstad on Kevin Kopps inducing the bases-loaded double play in the fourth inning
“I felt like that was a good momentum shift for our team. On the four innings, I think it just helped to get our offense going and I was trying to make them quick. It kept the momentum on our side.” — Kevin Kopps on his outing helping get the offense going
Up next
Arkansas will go for its fourth conference series sweep on Saturday as it will take on LSU one more time at Baum-Walker Stadium.
You can hear the game on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home. Pregame starts at 12:30 p.m.
First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. with Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter on the call and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Kostyshock, Kopps, Kjerstad on taking series over Tigers
The three K’s — Jacob Kostyshock, Kevin Kopps and Heston Kjerstad — talked about coming from behind to beat LSU on Friday night and clinch the series.
Van Horn recapping Hogs’ series-clinching win over LSU
For the first time since 2011, Arkansas has taken a series against LSU and Dave Van Horn talked about a win where his team once again came from behind.
Razorbacks move into prime position for title at SEC Championships
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas remains in the hunt for a conference title following day two of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at John McDonnell Field.
Arkansas qualified nine athletes through to tomorrow’s finals while the Razorbacks added 34.5-points through eight events scored.
Tori Hoggard, Lexi Jacobus, and Desiree Freier combined for 19-points in the pole vault as the trio finished 2-3-4 in the event. Hoggard and Jacobus cleared an identical 4.36m (14-3.50), but were separated by misses throughout the competition, while Freier’s fourth-place finish came following a clearance of 4.26m (13-11.75).
Janeek Brown (12.84Q) and Payton Chadwick (12.91Q) advanced to the final of the 100-meter hurdles, both earning the Auto-Q by finishing in the top three of their heats.
Brown finished as the second-fastest qualifier trailing LSU’s Tonea Marshall by one one-hundredth of a second (0.01).
Five of the eight finalists in the 1,500-meters will be Razorbacks as Lauren Gregory (4:18.79Q), Sydney Brown (4:20.69Q), Carina Viljoen (4:23.19Q), Maddy Reed (4:23.33Q), Meghan Underwood (4:25.84q), and Taylor Werner (4:28.14Q) all earned a chance to compete for the conference crown Saturday afternoon.
Brown’s time finished as a personal-best.
Kethlin Campbell advanced to the 400-meter final running 52.03 that stood as the fourth-fastest time from the preliminary round.
An SEC finalist at 100-meters last season, Kiara Parker will make her return as she advanced to this year’s final in 11.24 seconds. Parker’s time is the fastest qualifying mark heading into the finals.
Devin Clark is an SEC Champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after crossing the line in 9:55.86 Friday night. The senior from Spring Branch, Texas brought home 10-points for the Razorbacks and earned her first individual SEC title.
Rachel Nichwitz scored in the event for Arkansas as well running 10:29.41 for sixth-place.
Matching Nichwitz’s sixth-place finish was G’Auna Edwards who took sixth in the long jump with a best of 6.36m (20-10.50).
The Razorbacks are currently in second place with 34.5 points through eight events scored.
| PLACE | WOMEN [8 out of 21 scored] | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Auburn | 41 |
| 2 |  |
Arkansas | 34.5 |
| 3 |  |
Missouri | 33 |
| 4 |  |
Alabama | 32 |
| 5 |  |
Florida | 31 |
| 5 |  |
Texas A&M | 31 |
| 7 |  |
Ole Miss | 26.5 |
| 8 |  |
Tennessee | 20.5 |
| 9 |  |
Georgia | 18.5 |
| 10 |  |
Miss State | 14 |
| 11 |  |
Kentucky | 11 |
| 12 |  |
Vanderbilt | 10 |
| 13 |  |
South Carolina | 6 |
| 14 |  |
LSU | 3 |
Arkansas will have at least one athlete in nine of the 13 events contested tomorrow afternoon.
Arkansas set for final day of SEC Championships on Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas remains in title contention following day two of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at John McDonnell Field.
Arkansas qualified four athletes through to tomorrow’s finals while the Razorbacks added 10-points bringing their total to 32 after eight events scored.
Sam Kempka added to the Razorback total with two points from a seventh-place finish in the shot put where the senior finished with a best mark of 18.64m (61-2) — the No. 4 throw in program history.
Laquan Nairn matched Kempka’s points with a seventh-place finish of his own, leaping out to a mark of 7.63m (25-0.50) — a personal-best mark.
Shakiel Chattoo and Carl Elliot III advanced to the finals of the 110-meter hurdles each running identical 13.79 times. Chattoo advanced by the auto-Q, finishing as one of the top three in his heat, while Elliot III earned his spot in the final as the second-fastest time qualifier.
Cameron Griffith moved on to the final in the 1,500-meters running 3:49.40 to win his heat.
Hunter Woodhall narrowly missed matching his personal-best in the prelims of the 400-meters as he grabbed a spot in tomorrow’s final after running 46.56 that is a tenth of a second (.10) off his lifetime-best of 46.46 from the John McDonnell Invitational.
Despite not scoring in two events, Gabe Moore took fifth-place in the decathlon with a two day total of 6,345-pts. Daniel Spejcher finished seventh with 5,960-pts. – a new personal best.
Moore who entered the day in second place moved to the top of the scoreboard after the 110-meter hurdles where he ran 14.56 for 903-points. Moore moved on to throw 49.33m (161-10) in the discus for 856-points.
On his opening attempt in the pole vault, he injured himself on the approach, which resulted in the senior recording a NH in the event scoring 0-points. After gathering himself for a second, Moore mounted a return to action posting a mark of 46.77m (153-5) for 541-points.
Unfortunately, Moore was unable to complete the two-day grind due to injury but still finished fifth-overall scoring four points towards the Arkansas total on the scoreboard.
Spejcher finished out the decathlon adding marks of 16.56 in the 110-meter hurdles, 38.94m (127-9) in the discus, 3.00m (9-10) in the pole vault, 50.09m (164-4) in the javelin, and a run of 5:12.50 in the 1,500-meters taking seventh-place for two points towards the Razorback total.
The Razorbacks are currently in third place with 32 points through eight events scored.
| PLACE | MEN [8 out of 21 scored] | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Florida | 37 |
| 2 | |
Georgia | 34 |
| 3 | |
Arkansas | 32 |
| 3 | |
Miss State | 32 |
| 5 | |
Alabama | 28 |
| 5 | |
LSU | 28 |
| 5 | |
Tennessee | 28 |
| 8 | |
Texas A&M | 24 |
| 9 | |
Missouri | 19 |
| 10 | |
Kentucky | 15 |
| 11 | |
Auburn | 14 |
| 12 | |
South Carolina | 13 |
| 13 | |
Ole Miss | 8 |
Arkansas will have at least one athlete in 10 of the 13 events contested tomorrow afternoon.
