Arkansas third baseman Jacob Nesbit, pitcher Connor Noland and designated hitter Jordan McFarland talked about the 10-2 win, series sweep over the Bulldogs.
Hari sets Danish 100-meter national record, Top 10 mark
WACO, Texas — A Danish national record and a pair of Arkansas Top 10 marks highlighted action for Arkansas at the Michael Johnson Invitational at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Kris Hari has had quite the last two weeks on the track for the Razorbacks where he’s turned in a lifetime-best in the 100-meters on each occasion.
At last week’s John McDonnell, Hari raced to a time of 10.31 lowering his personal-best from the previous wind-legal mark of 10.52.
On Saturday, Hari ran 10.26 in the 100-meters finishing fourth-overall in a field that featured the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season by Texas Tech’s Divine Oduduru who paced the field at 9.94.
Hari’s time is the 10th-fastest in Arkansas program history and is also a new Danish National Record in the event besting the previous mark of 10.29 set by Morten Jensen in 2004.
Roy Ejiakuekwu also turned in a lifetime-best in the 100-meters with his time of 10.37 for seventh-place, while Josh Oglesby made it 3-for-3 on the day for Razorback PRs in the race as his time of 10.44 is a lifetime-best for the freshman from Katy, Texas.
Jalen Brown (21.17), Rashad Boyd (21.29), and Rhayko Schwartz (21.51) finished 10th, 12th, and 14th in the 200-meters with Brown’s mark being an all-conditions lifetime-best in the event.
Hunter Woodhall, who returned to the track where he made his Arkansas outdoor debut last season, used a run of 46.52 to finish fifth overall.
Tre’Bien Gilbert (14.01) and Shakiel Chattoo (14.24) grabbed top-three finishes going 2-3 in the 110-meter hurdles.
The 400-meter hurdles saw Travean Caldwell run a lifetime-best 50.40 that is the eighth-fastest ever by a Razorback athlete.
Sam Kempka’s fourth-place finish in the shot put was a lifetime-best for the senior who finished with a best of 18.54m (60-10). Jeff Rogers mark of 17.58m (57-8.25) was also a lifetime-best in a seventh-place finish.
Arkansas’ 4×400m Relay of Caldwell, Brown, Hari, Woodhall closed out the meet with a season-best 3:07.37.
Men’s 4×100m Relay
1. Oglesby, Boyd, Hari, Ejiakuekwu – 39.40 – season-best
Men’s 100-meters
4. Kris Hari – 10.26 – Danish National Record/No. 10 in program history
7. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 10.37
12. Josh Oglesby – 10.44
Men’s 200-meters
10. Jalen Brown – 21.17
12. Rashad Boyd – 21.29
14. Rhayko Schwartz – 21.51
Men’s 400-meters
5. Hunter Woodhall – 46.52
16. John Winn – 47.50
24. James Milholen – 48.85
Men’s 800-meters
8. Eugene Grayson III – 1:52.73
11. Reese Walters – 1:56.01
Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase
3. Carter Persyn – 9:54.98
Men’s 110-meter hurdles
2. Tre’Bien Gilbert – 14.01
3. Shakiel Chattoo – 14.24
9. Gabe Moore – 14.75
10. Daniel Spejcher -15.12
Men’s 400-meter hurdles
5. Travean Caldwell – 50.40 No. 8 time in program history
9. Nick Hilson – 51.88
Men’s 4×400m Relay
3. Caldwell, Brown, Hari, Woodhall – 3:07.37 – season-best
Discus
5. Erich Sullins – 51.22m (168-0.50)
12. Gabe Moore – 45.44m (149-1)
16. Daniel Spejcher – 38.44m (126-1.50)
Men’s Long Jump
6. Gabe Moore – 6.78m (22-3)
13. Daniel Spejcher – 6.40m (21-0)
Men’s Shot Put
4. Sam Kempka – 18.54m (60-10)
7. Jeff Rogers – 17.58m (57-8.25)
Men’s Triple Jump
4. Laquan Nairn – 15.12m (49-7.25)
Razorbacks get five Top 10 performances in sprints, relays in Baton Rouge
BATON ROUGE, La. — Arkansas’ women’s sprints and relays wrapped up the LSU Alumni Gold Saturday afternoon with five program Top 10 marks including two by sophomore Janeek Brown who took a break from the hurdles this weekend to focus on her sprint work.
The Razorback sprint relay of Kiara Parker, Payton Chadwick, Janeek Brown, and Kethlin Campbell got the day started on a high note, turning in a season-best performance of 43.45 that also doubles as the No. 4 performance in program history.
Brown started her individual events with a quick run of 11.22 in the 100-meters finishing fifth-overall. Heer time stands as the No. 4 time in program history behind Jada Baylark (11.04), Veronica Campbell (11.10) and Kiara Parker at 11.13.
Parker finished sixth in the same event running 11.23 while Tamara Kuykendall finished seventh in the “B” section of the event running 11.83.
In the deuce, Brown once again led the charge for Arkansas as she doubled back from the 100-meters to post a lifetime-best in the 200-meters at 23.05.
For the second time in the meet, Brown ran a lifetime-best that finished in the all-time top-10 list checking in at No. 4 in program history trailing only Veronica Campbell (22.41), Taylor Ellis-Watson (22.48), and Jada Baylark (23.00).
Also competing in the 200-meters were Chadwick (23.39) who finished ninth in the “A” section, and Tamara Kuykendall (24.26) and Shafiqua Maloney (24.73) who took seventh and 19th in the “B” section.
Kethlin Campbell ran the No. 5 time in program history in the 400-meters earning a second-place finish in her season opener in the event.
Campbell is now a member of both the indoor and outdoor top-10 list in the 4000-meters in only her first season on The Hill after transferring from Duke this past summer.
Following Campbell were Morgan Burks-Magee (53.83) in 10th, Sydney Hammit (54.03) close behind in 11th, Paris Peoples (54.36) in 13th, and Tiana Wilson in 16th-place.
Sydney Davis (56.01) and Shafiqua Maloney (56.75) took seventh and 10th in the “B” section of the 400-meters.
Alex Byrnes took eighth-place in the 800-meters with her run of 2:09.85.
In the hurdle events, Chadwick took care of the high hurdles running a season-best 12.97 for third-place while J’Alyiea Smith handled the intermediate hurdles running 1:01.12 for 12th-place.
To close out the meet, Burks-Magee, Campbell, Chadwick, and Parker ran 3:30.37 in the 4×400-meter relay that is good for No. 7 in program history.
4×100-meter relay
1. Parker, Chadwick, Brown, Campbell – 43.45 – No. 4 in program history
100-Meters
5. Janeek Brown – 11.22 – No. 4 in program history
6. Kiara Parker – 11.23
7. Tamara Kuykendall – 11.83
200-meters
4. Janeek Brown 23.05 – No. 4 in program history
9. Payton Chadwick – 23.39
7. Tamara Kuykendall – 24.26
19. Shafiqua Maloney – 24.73
400-meters
2. Kethlin Campbell – 51.83 – No. 5 in program history
10. Morgan Burks-Magee – 53.83
11. Sydney Hammit – 54.03
13. Paris Peoples – 54.36
16. Tiana Wilson – 55.26
7. Sydney Davis – 56.01
10. Shafiqua Maloney – 56.75
800-meters
8. Alex Byrnes – 2:09.85
100-meter hurdles
3. Payton Chadwick – 12.97 – Season-Best
400-meter hurdles
12. J’Alyiea Smith – 1:01.12
4×400-meter relay
1. Burks Magee, Campbell, Chadwick, Parker – 3:30.37- No. 7 in program history
Long Jump
7. G’Auna Edwards – 6.00m (19-8.25)
Matthews wins, but Razorbacks fall in match play at SEC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas redshirt freshman Brooke Matthews played to a 3-up win but is wasn’t enough to lift the Razorbacks as they fell 3-1-1 to Auburn in the first round of match play at the SEC Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday.
Matthews has won four consecutive matches picking up three match wins and co-medalist honors at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Georgia, last week.
In Saturday’s match, Matthews went into the 12th hole of the match all square. She won that hole and picked up two more holes as the match closed.
SEC Individual champion Maria Fassi played extra golf needing some heroics on the 18th hole to continue play. An errant tee shot had Fassi in the woods.
She battled out of the trees leaving herself a long putt nearly the width of the green to stay in the game. Her roll was on the mark just sliding by the top of the hole and it looked like she would drop the match.
Her Tiger opponent, however, missed her putt allowing the scoring to remain all square. The duo moved on to extra holes, but the game was suspended as Auburn won in the other positions.
The loss eliminates Arkansas from the SEC Tournament as the Razorbacks finish T5 overall.
Razorback Lineup
Auburn def. Arkansas, 3-1-1
Maria Fassi (Ark) vs. Kaleigh Telfer (AU), AS through 19
Elena Hualde (AU) def. Kaylee Benton (Ark), 1-up
Brooke Matthews (Ark) def. Brooke Sansom (AU), 3-up
Julie McCarthy (AU) def. Ximena Gonzalez (Ark), 3-up
Mychael O’Berry (AU) def. Dylan Kim (Ark), 3-up
Up Next
The NCAA Selection Show airs Wednesday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
Each regional features 18 teams and six individuals with the low six teams and low three individuals not on an advancing team moving on to the NCA Championship in Fayetteville.
Regionals will be conducted May 6-8. Possible regional sites include:
• Saugahatchee Country Club | Opelika, Alabama | Auburn University, host
• Tumble Creek Golf Club | Cle Elum, Washington | University of Washington, host
• Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club | Norman, Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma, host
• Forest Akers West Golf Course | East Lansing, Michigan | Michigan State University, host
Viljoen cracks Arkansas all-time Top 10 at Bryan Clay Invitational
AZUSA, Calif. — The South African native etched her name in the Arkansas record book as Carina Viljoen added her name to the Razorbacks all-time Top 10 list Friday night on the final day of the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Viljoen highlighted a group of four who competed in the 1,500-meters Friday night as she crossed the line in 4:14.27 for eighth-place.
Her time stands as the seventh-fastest mark in program history bumping Jessica Kamilos and Therese Haiss off the list with their identical times of 4:16.31 from 2015 and 2017, respectively.
Viljoen’s time shaved two seconds off her lifetime-best heading into the meet.
Taylor Werner took 16th-place shaving almost 10 seconds off her lifetime-best as she crossed the line in 4:17.79 topping her previous best of 4:25.96.
The true-freshman Meghan Underwood took 33rd-place with her lifetime-best of 4:22.39 that shaved four seconds off her previous best of 4:26.33 from the end of March.
Rounding out competition on the night for Arkansas was Rachel Nichwitz who ran 4:43.38 for 138th-place.
Arkansas will continue this weekend’s slate with action at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sunday morning starting at 9:40 a.m. from the Bernie Moore track stadium on the campus of LSU.
Lifetime best performances finish ‘Bryan Clay,’ first day at ‘Michael Johnson’
AZUSA, Calif. — Numerous lifetime-bests once again headlined the action on the west coast for Arkansas, capping day three at the Bryan Clay Invitational and day one at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
Two of the three 800-meters performances on Friday night were lifetime-bests as Kieran Taylor, and Chase Pareti sprinted to times of 1:48.06 and 1:50.04, respectively, finishing sixth and 23rd.
Moving up to the 1,500-meters, there were six Razorbacks on the track for Arkansas. Cameron Griffith led the group running a lifetime-best of 3:39.86 for a 10th-place finish that falls just outside the Arkansas all-time top-10 list.
Following Griffith were Ethan Moehn (3:44.89) in 35th, and Kyle Levermore in 92nd-place, while Ryan Murphy finished 27th in his heat running a lifetime-best 3:53.01.
Meanwhile, in Waco, Texas, Erich Sullins was the first Razorback in action as he competed in the hammer throw. Sullins posted a runner-up finish at the Michael Johnson Invitational finishing with a best of 67.22m (220-6).
Freshman Daniel Spejcher posted an eighth-place finish in the javelin turning in a lifetime-best of 45.91m (150-7) while Gabe Moore also posted an eighth-place finish clearing 4.45m (14-7.25) in the pole vault.
Arkansas will continue action at the Michael Johnson Invitational tomorrow morning starting at 9:30 a.m. from the Clyde Hart Track & Field stadium in Waco, Texas.
Razorbacks can’t close sweep, falling to LSU on Saturday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas and LSU went scoreless for six of the seven innings in LSU’s game three, 3-1 win, but the Razorbacks took the series, 2-1.
Driving the defensive performance, the Razorback pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts, a weekend-high against the Tigers.
Mary Haff recorded the loss and is now 16-10 on the season. Junior Autumn Storms entered in relief for Haff and pitched the four, final innings.
Behind Haff and Storms, the Arkansas defense held the league’s best offense to a 0-for-3 record with the bases loaded and held off 14 stranded base runners.
Junior Sydney Parr recorded a career-high five putouts in the contest, making five crucial catches in center field for the Razorbacks. Parr recorded the final out of the inning three times, twice with runners in scoring position.
LSU scored all three of its runs on a three-run home run by Amanda Doyle in the third inning. Doyle finished the contest with three hits in four at bats.
Arkansas gave its best run at the Tiger lead in the sixth inning. The Hogs put a runner on base after pinch-hitter Aly Manzo reached on a fielder’s choice.
Junior Keely Edwards reentered for Arkansas before advancing to second on a wild pitch and scoring on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Danielle Gibson.
Up next
Arkansas will hit the road for the final road series of the regular season next weekend at Texas A&M before returning to Fayetteville for the final home series against Auburn.
Big innings lift Hogs to series win, sets up Saturday matchup for sweep
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas jumped on second-ranked Mississippi State early and never looked back Friday night, winning 12-5 to claim the series and move into sole possession of second place in the SEC West.
The win is the Razorbacks’ (29-10, 11-6 SEC) fourth in a row and third in conference play as they used a four-run second inning and five-run seventh innings to pull away from the Bulldogs for the seven-run victory.
It’s the sixth-straight home series win over Mississippi State dating back to 2007.
Four different Razorback hitters recorded multi-hit games led by catcher Casey Opitz, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, all from a bases-clearing single in the seventh that was misplayed by the Bulldogs’ right fielder.
Over the last three games, Opitz has had the hot bat going 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate with six RBIs and one home run.
Sophomore infielder Casey Martin turned in another strong line, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs. His big swing came in the second inning when he took Peyton Plumlee deep to centerfield for a grand slam, his first of his career.
It was the third grand slam hit by a Razorback this season and the eighth home run of the year by Martin.
Dominic Fletcher and Christian Franklin also had two-hit games. Neither drove in a run in the ballgame, but it’s the second-straight two-hit game for Franklin and fourth-straight multi-hit game for Fletcher.
Wicklander steadies pitching staff In early innings
Freshman Patrick Wicklander, making his first career conference start at home, did a good job holding a good Mississippi State offense in check, allowing only two runs on three hits in four innings.
He struck out six and walked only three on 81 pitches. He’s thrown three or more innings in his last four outings and has struck out five or more batters six times, including four of his last six appearances.
Kopps stops Bulldogs momentum in late innings
Mississippi State showed some signs of life after scoring two runs off Wicklander in the third and then three off of Kole Ramage in the fifth to cut Arkansas’ lead to 7-5.
Coach Dave Van Horn went to the bullpen at the start of the sixth inning and brought in redshirt junior Kevin Kopps, who was practically untouchable for the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.
Kopps gave up just one walk in what was his longest outing of the year and struck out three on 47 pitches. He did hit the first batter he faced, but went on to retire nine of the next 10 batters.
Hogs use walks to advantage
Arkansas drew 16 walks against Mississippi State Friday night, its most walks against an opponent this year and third of 10 or more.
The Hogs reached their leadoff batter in the first eight innings of the game, four by walks. The 16 free passes is the most since they set the school record for 19 against Alabama A&M in 2013.
Razorback quotables
“That’s all we’ve been doing. That’s all we’re doing in practice. It’s pretty obvious what we need to do, and then it’s up to them to do it. Buy in, and Casey’s done a great job. He’s raised his average in the last four or five games because he’s hit the ball through the middle. It’s good to see.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on Casey Martin’s opposite way approach
“He brought some normalcy to the game. The game was going crazy. For both sides, people weren’t throwing the ball over the plate, walking people, and it’s game two of an SEC series, you’re supposed to have some decent pitching on a Game 2 but everybody’s scattering and pitching behind in the count. Kevin came in, but you think about and he comes in and hits a guy then walks the next batter and you’re thinking, ‘oh baby here we go again.’ Then he got under control. He had the quick second inning and then the third inning, not that bad. He was up to 50 pitches, though, so we got him out. We haven’t taken him above there so we’re just trying to take care of our guys.” — Van Horn on Kevin Kopps
“My approach was just put the bat on the ball. I’ve been seeing it a lot better lately. So, I was just going up there trying to take a good swing on a pitch and got two knocks out of it.” — Casey Opitz on his bases-clearing single in the seventh inning
“When you get a lot of walks, you tend to get a lot of runs. I know the guys in our lineup top to bottom can hit. It doesn’t matter who you put in there, but when we get walks, that can determine a game. We kept driving them in and driving them in and that just goes to our approach. Guys taking pitches and swinging and attacking inside the zone.” — Casey Martin on the team’s patience at the plate
“That just shows the grit this team has. Even though we really didn’t have the weekend we wanted at Vandy, we came back and we worked on some things and got right back after it. I think that’s what it takes to be good in this league.” — Opitz on bouncing back after the series loss at Vanderbilt
Up next
Arkansas and Mississippi State finish the three-game series on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium with first pitch set for 2 p.m.
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.
The game will be televised on SEC Network+.
Van Horn talks about ‘patience’ by Hogs in winning series over MSU
Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn liked his team’s patience at the plate Friday night in the 12-5 win over the Bulldogs to clinch the SEC series
Kopps, Opitz, Martin recapping series-clinching win over Bulldogs
Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps, catcher Casey Opitz and shortstop Casey Martin on Friday night’s 12-5 win over second-ranked Mississippi State to clinch the series.
McEwen’s 4-for-4 night at plate propels Arkansas past LSU, 11-1
FAYETTEVILLE — Sophomore Hannah McEwen went 4-for-4 at the plate on Friday night as Arkansas needed only five innings to defeat LSU, 11-1.
McEwen recorded four singles in the victory, driving in three runs as the Razorbacks recorded their eighth consecutive win.
McEwen was a part of an offense that scored seven runs in the first inning alone, the most in a single inning by the Razorbacks this season.
It’s the second time this season McEwen recorded a four-hit performance and the 14th time she finished with multiple hits.
Arkansas (34-14, 8-9) rolled into the bottom of the inning already trailing by one, but the Razorback bats came live quickly and early, taking the lead with a home run by senior Ashley Diaz to go ahead, 2-1.
Diaz sparked a rally that included runs scored by Kayla Green, Sydney Parr, Haydi Bugarin, Nicole Duncan, and Keely Edwards.
The lineup stayed hot throughout the night, as four more Hogs scored when Arkansas batted around for the second time in three innings.
Sophomore Danielle Gibson connected on the 1-1 pitch and sent it over the right-field wall for her 11th home run of the season.
After allowing the single run in the first, junior Autumn Storms and the Razorback defense held strong, keeping LSU scoreless.
In fact, not a single Tiger would make it safely to third base for the remainder of the contest.
Notables
• Hannah McEwen reached based for the 44th time this season and extended her on-base streak to 10 games.
• Nicole Duncan was hit-by-pitch for the 16th time this season, tying the single-season record of 16.
• The win marks the first time in the series history that Arkansas has defeated LSU in back-to-back meetings.
• Arkansas’ 11 runs was the most by an LSU opponent since 2014.
Keep up with the Hogs
Game 3 | Watch | Live Scoring
Up next
The Hogs and Tigers will play on Saturday for the series finale at 1 p.m. The game will air live on ESPNU and stream on the WatchESPN app. Jenn Hildreth and Jenny Dalton-Hill on the call.
Arkansas has only three conference series remaining, with a road series to follow next weekend at Texas A&M and the final home series of the season against Auburn.
