Cotton takes fifth place in 100 meters at USTA Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa — On the final day of the USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Kenzo Cotton closed out his career at Arkansas in the USATF 200-meter final alongside former teammate and Arkansas alum, Marqueze Washington.
Cotton, a senior NCAA All-American, and Academic All-American advanced to the finals in the 200-meters, finishing third in his heat running 20.70. Cotton’s time was the ninth-fastest in the semifinal.
Pro Hog Marqueze Washington joined Cotton in the final with his fourth-place finish in the first heat running 20.47 to advance.
In the final, Cotton turned in a solid performance running 20.82 to snag a fifth-place finish in the event. Washington took seventh-place after pulling up with an injury during the final.
“I felt like it was a pretty good race,” said Cotton. ” I think I ran my curve really well, that’s what me and coach [Doug] Case have been talking about, making sure I execute that curve well. Overall I’m happy with my place and happy with my finish and how I executed my race.”
Cotton concludes his career after being a mainstay on the relays and sprint events for the past four seasons.
“I’m really happy with how my career went,” said Cotton. “I never expected to run the times I’m running, and as early as I did. I’ve really enjoyed my time here at Arkansas and the teammates that I’ve trained with and the friends that I’ve made.”
Also competing in Sunday’s finals was Razorback alum Stanley Kebenei who had a great day on the track as well. Kebenei finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase running 8:28.39, a season-best time.
Hogs, Beavers set for baseball national title
OMAHA, Neb. — The hunt for Arkansas’ first NCAA title begins Monday evening when the Razorbacks face Oregon State in game one of the College World Series finals.
First pitch of the best-of-three series is scheduled for 6 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park on ESPN.
The Razorbacks swept through their bracket, knocking off top-seeded and defending national champion Florida in the CWS semifinal.
Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Campbell tied a career-high eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings and freshman Casey Martin was 4-for-5 with three runs scored in the Arkansas’ 5-2 win over the Gators.
The program last played for an NCAA title 39 years ago during the 1979 College World Series.
Matchup: No. 5 Arkansas (47-19) vs No. 3 Oregon State (53-11-1)
TV: ESPN and WatchESPN
Talent: Karl Ravech (PXP), Kyle Peterson (Analyst), Eduardo Perez (Analyst) and Laura Rutledge (Reporter)
Radio: Razorback Sports Network from IMG
Probable Starters: (ARK) RHP Blaine Knight (13-0) vs (OSU) TBA
The CWS Championship Series will be a matchup of top-15 offenses in the country with both Arkansas and Oregon State hitting over .300 collectively and scoring more than seven runs per game this season.
The Razorbacks are hitting .330 over their first three games of the College World Series and are paced by Martin and sophomore Dominic Fletcher who are both hitting .571 (8-for-14) entering Monday’s game.
Arkansas’ 47 wins are its most under head coach Dave Van Horn and the highest total by the program since a 47-15 record during the 1990 season under Norm DeBriyn.
Monday’s Probable Starter – RHP Blaine Knight
Junior Blaine Knight is set to make his second start of the 2018 College World Series, eight days after his last outing in the Razorbacks’ CWS opener against Texas.
In that game, Knight pitched allowed two runs on just four hits with four strikeouts in 5.0 innings of work and improved to 13-0 this year.
Four-Hit Club
Entering this year, only one Razorbacks had ever collected four hits in a College World Series and that distinction belonged to Jeff King in 1985. Over the first three games in Omaha, that list has grown by two.
Fletcher was 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBI against Texas Tech (June 20) and Martin followed that with a 4-for-5 performance with three runs scored in the semifinal against Florida (June 22).
Unfamiliar Foes
Arkansas and Oregon State have met just three times previously and not since the 1995 season.
Two of the three matchups have NCAA postseason ties with the teams splitting a pair of games during the 1986 NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Okla.
Morris captures pole vault title at USATF Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa — Arkansas wrapped up competition at the 2018 USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships Sunday afternoon with three Razorbacks competing in the women’s pole vault.
Fresh off the NCAA Championships, current Razorbacks Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard stepped to the runway, joining Arkansas alum Sandi Morris.
Hoggard and Jacobus each cleared two bars on the day. Hoggard cleared the first bar on the initial attempt while clearing her second bar of the day on the third try. Jacobus cleared 4.30m (14′-1.25″) on her second attempt and needed three looks at 4.45m (14′-7.25″) to make a clean pass.
Hoggard finished seventh, while Jacobus took ninth-place in the event, both cleared4.45m (14′-7.25″).
Morris, who entered the event as the absolute world leader with her mark from indoors where she cleared 4.95m (16′-2.75″), controlled the competition for most of the day, finishing with a day’s best clearance of 4.80m (15′-9″) to capture the 2018 USATF Championship.
Jenn Suhr, who entered the meet holding the world outdoor lead in the pole vault at 4.93m (16′-2″), finished third in the competition with a best of 4.60m (15′-1″).
“It was fun,” said Morris. “We had a lot to deal with, there was actually quite the swirl of winds, which can be quite difficult in the pole vault. I finally entered the competition and didn’t get to finish at the end I was really excited to take my attempts at the world lead. I took one attempt at it and had a miss at it and I was feeling really strong but had to shut it down,” Morris finished.
This is the second-straight USATF Outdoor Championship for Morris, and her fourth-overall USATF title in the event adding to her titles from USATF Indoors in 2016 and 2017.
Coaches, players preview College World Series finals
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, joined by Carson Shaddy and Blaine Knight, along with Oregon State players and coaches talked Sunday about the national championship series.
Fassi, Kim eliminated while Lewis, Lopez advance at NWA
ROGERS — Former Razorbacks Stacy Lewis and Gabriela Lopez advanced to final round play while current players Maria Fassi and Dylan Kim’s weekends came to a close on Saturday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
Fassi played on a sponsor’s exemption and finished shooting 4-over 73-73=146. The senior-to-be had a colorful scorecard with two eagles, one birdie and five bogeys.
“Two eagles, that’s always good,” said Fassi. “It’s a nice highlight for the tournament.”
The first eagle came on the second hole, a par-5, after she hit a perfect tee shot to set up the finish. Fassi had a little over 200 yards to the hole for her second shot and hit a 5 iron to 25 feet from the pin. She drained the long putt for the eagle.
Fassi hit one of her best drives of the day on No. 7 and left herself an 8 iron to the hole. She hit it close to the pin and tapped in for the second eagle of the round.
Kim played her way in through the Monday qualifier and finished her first appearance at the event with rounds of 70-72=142. She, along with the other Razorback players, began the day on the 10th hole and played the back nine 1-over finishing with seven consecutive pars before the turn.
Lewis and Lopez finished the day tied at 42nd overall and advance to Sunday’s final round. They took different paths to their position with Lewis carding a 1-over 72 on Saturday while Lopez shot a 4-over 75.
Lopez grabbed the tournament lead after the first round firing an 8-under 63. She is in the clubhouse with a 138. Lewis and Lopez had three birdies each on Saturday.
Fassi and Kim will begin preparations for the upcoming Palmer Cup which takes place July 6-8, at Evian Resort Golf Club in France.
Hillitz, Brooks close out Razorback careers at USATFs
DES MOINES, Iowa — A pair of Razorback All-Americans closed out their Arkansas careers Saturday afternoon at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon at Drake Field.
Nikki Hiltz closed out her career at Arkansas with a ninth-place finish in the 1,500-meters running 4:15.03. A consummate All-American, Hiltz concludes her career with Arkansas after three years, following a freshman season at Oregon, and is the second-fastest 1,500-meter athlete to come through the Razorback program, holding a personal-best time of 4:09.14, trailing only school record holder Dominique Scott who ran 4:08.65 in 2015.
“It’s been an amazing three years,” said Hiltz. “Not the way I wanted to end it, but I got second at NCAAs and made it to the final at my second USA Championships, so I can’t be too mad. It’s an honor to wear the Razorback uniform and I’m happy I got to do it on the biggest stage in the U.S.”
Taliyah Brooks finished ninth in the 100-meter hurdles running 13.07 (13.063) barely missing out on advancing to the final by two one-thousands of a second (.002) to Jasmin Stowers who grabbed the final spot at 13.061. Brooks caps her career as a Razorback as the No. 3 performer in the 100-meter hurdles with her mark of 12.84 she set at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships earlier this year. Brooks also competed in the long jump, finishing 12th with a best of 6.05m (19′-10.25″). Brooks leaves Arkansas as the No. 1 long jumper in program history having set the school record mark of 6.78m (22′-3″).
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow at 1:55 p.m. where current Hogs Lexi Jacobus and Tori Hoggard will join alum Sandi Morris in the women’s pole vault.
Igobwke gets fifth in 400; Cotton advances to USATF semis
DES MOINES, Iowa — Kenzo Cotton led the way on day three of the USATF Championships for Arkansas Saturday afternoon, advancing to the semifinals of the 200-meters.
Top of the order on day three for Arkansas was the prelims of the 200-meters, featuring senior Kenzo Cotton, who was joined by Razorback alums Marqueze Washington and Jarrion Lawson.
Washington and Lawson ran in heat one finishing in 20.85 and 21.72, respectively. Neither finished in the top-three to earn the auto-q to the semifinal and would have to wait to see if they advanced on time.
Heat two saw Cotton grab an auto-Q spot into the semis with a third-place finish in his heat running 20.72. Washington (20.85q) advanced on time, holding the fastest time-qualifying mark from prelims, while Lawson finished 19th overall in the event. Cotton and Washington will return to the track for semifinal action tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
Obi Igbokwe took to the track for his first USATF final in the 400-meters following a spectacular run in the semis last night. Igbokwe, an NCAA All-American in the event, finished in fifth-place running 45.23.
Larry Donald wrapped up his career as a Razorback with a 19th-place finish in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles running 14.20.
Arkansas alum Andrew Irwin finished with a best clearance of 5.70m (18′-8.25″) to take fifth-place in the pole vault cleanly clearing his first three bars of the meet.
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. with Kenzo Cotton and Marqueze Washington in the semifinals of the men’s 200-meters.
Van Horn, players talk about getting to CWS finals
© Video from NCAA
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn along with Isaiah Campbell, Matt Cronin and Casey Martin talk about the 5-2 win over Florida on Friday night to advance to the CWS finals.
Florida coach, players talk about loss to Razorbacks
© Video from NCAA
Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan and selected players talk about missing a shot to repeat as national champions after losing to Arkansas on Friday night, 5-2.
PHOTOS: Best pictures from Hogs’ win over Florida
