Razorbacks set new 4×100 record at ‘McDonnell’ on Saturday

• John McDonnell Results

FAYETTEVILLE — Taking on cold conditions that featured a light mist throughout the day, Arkansas turned in a strong day on its home track at the John McDonnell Invitation Saturday, highlighted by a record-breaking performance in the 4-x-100 meter relay.

Record-Breaking Performance
The 4-x-100 meter squad of Daina Harper, Payton Stumbaugh, Taliyah Brooks and Kiara Parker were first on the track and got things started in a big way by setting a new program and meet record despite the conditions with a time of 43.75. That mark broke the school record of 43.84 set by the 2004 squad that included eight-time Olympic medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown and Olympic performer LaShauntea Moore. The 43.75 is currently good for eighth-best in the nation and third in the NCAA West Region.

What A Day
The anchor of Arkansas’ record-breaking 4-x-100 relay squad, sophomore Kiara Parker turned in a big day with wins in the 100 and 200-meter races. Parker posted a 100-meter time of the day at 11.32, good for ninth-best in the NCAA West Region. Parker has won the 100 in each of the three outdoor meets so far this season and has improved her time each time. Just over an hour later, Parker took the track in the 200 and produced a time of 23.39, which is currently firmly inside the NCAA West Region top 40.

Stumbaugh Sets Season-Best
Another member of the 4-x-100 squad, junior Payton Stumbaugh set a season-best with a time of 13.12 in the 100-meter hurdles. Stumbaugh’s time is currently tied for 11^th nationally and sixth in the NCAA West Region.

Birch Makes Big Move
Entering the weekend 81^st nationally in the 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Damajahnee Birch used a time of 57.79 to move up over 60 spots. Birch’s time was 2.30 seconds faster than her first run of the year in the 400 hurdles just two weeks ago at the Baylor Invitational. She now ranks 16^th nationally and sixth in the NCAA West Region.

Notables

• Sophomore Tori Weeks won the pole vault for the first time in her outdoor career.
• Freshman Jada Baylark worked her way into the top 40 of the NCAA West Region in the 200 meters (11.54).
• Arkansas had five of the top six finishers in the 200 meters.
• Sophomore Ceara Watson was victorious in the 800 meters.
• Sophomore Sydney Brown and freshman Maddy Reed each set new personal bests in the 1,500 meters to finishing second and third, respectively, behind five-time NCAA champ Dominique Scott.

Up Next
Arkansas will return to action next weekend at the inaugural SEC Relays held at Bernie Moore Track Stadium on the campus of LSU.

John McDonnell Invitational
April 22, 2017
John McDonnell Field (Fayetteville, Arkansas)

100 Meters
1. Kiara Parker – 11.32
3. Jada Baylark – 11.54
7. Tamara Kuykendall – 12.01
11. Kaylee McCarthy – 12.70

200 Meters
1. Kiara Parker – 23.39
2. Daina Harper – 23.54
4. Jada Baylark – 23.78
5. Payton Stumbaugh – 23.80
6. Sunkietra McCallister – 23.99
8. Tamara Kuykendall – 24.53
11. Taliyah Brooks – 25.20
15. Kaylee McCarthy – 25.75

400 Meters
2. Sunkietra McCallister – 55.28
3. Alex Byrnes – 55.34
4. Sydney Hammit – 55.49
15. Jada Pollard – 1:00.48

800 Meters
1. Ceara Watson – 2:08.82
4. Kailee Sawyer – 2:11.66
13. Madison Cooley – 2:21.94
14. Autumn Sehy – 2:22.38

1,500 Meters
2. Sydney Brown – 4:22.12
3. Maddy Reed – 4:24.76
4. Abby Gray – 4:25.32
7. Regan Ward – 4:27.87
8. Valerie Reina – 4:38.63

3,000 Meters
1. Carina Viljoen – 9:32.86
2. Rachel Nichwitz – 9:49.20
3. Valerie Reina – 10:05.39
6. Grace Taylor – 10:22.85

100 Meter Hurdles
1. Payton Stumbaugh – 13.12

400 Meter Hurdles
1. Damajahnee Birch – 57.79

4-x-100 Meter Relay
1. Brooks, Stumbaugh, Harper, Parker – 43.75

4-x-400 Meter Relay
3. Parker, Hammit, McCallister, Byrnes – 3:44.12

High Jump
5. Carmen Sitz – 1.55m/5-1

Pole Vault
1. Tori Weeks – 4.05m/13-3 1/2
5. Rylee Robinson – 3.50m/11-5 3/4
6. Madeline Telford – 3.50m/11-5 3/4

Long Jump
1. Taliyah Brooks – 6.39m/20-11 3/4

Heptathlon
1. Kelsey Herman – 3,446 points
1. 100H – 13.75 (1,014)
1. High Jump – 5-8 (891)
2. Shot Put – 37-3 3/4 (619)
1. 200m = 24.62 (922)

2. Ashlee Moore – 3,166 points
2. 100H – 14.01 (977)
2. High Jump – 5-5 3/4 (818)
3. Shot Put – 36-5 1/2 (602)
2. 200m – 26.32 (769)