Arkansas advances four to Eugene, qualifies 13 for NCAA West quarterfinals

Shawn Price May 23, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 2 nationally-ranked Arkansas advanced four athletes to Eugene for the NCAA Championships during the Razorbacks first day of the NCAA West First Round being held at John McDonnell Field this week.

The foursome included Nia Robinson in the long jump, Rachel Homoly in the pole vault, as well as the tandem of Paityn Noe and Sydney Thorvaldson in the 10,000m.

Robinson became the first to advance during Thursday’s meet with a wind-aided mark of 21-6 (6.55) that ranked 10th among the 12 long jumpers moving onto Hayward Field.

Five jumpers matched the 12th best mark of 21-4.75w (6.52) with Arizona State’s Alexandria Johnson having a better secondary mark of 21-1.25w (6.43) to secure the trip the Eugene.

Homoly, a freshman, set a career best of 14-1.25 (4.30) in the pole vault to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place to secure her spot in Eugene. Two other Razorbacks in the field included Marin Chamberlin (13-9.25) and Hannah Estes (13-5.25), who placed 20th and 22nd.

Homoly, who had a previous career best of 14-0 (4.27) from high school, made the first three bars on first attempts. Then she needed a pair of attempts to make 13-9.25 (4.20) and 14-1.25.

Entering the meet, Homoly had a season best of 13-11.25 (4.25) as runner-up in the Arkansas Twilight meet in early May.

With Homoly advancing, this will mark the 20th time in the past 21 NCAA Outdoor Championships held for Arkansas to have a pole vaulter in the final under assistant coach Bryan Compton.

A total of 20 different vaulters have produced 37 entries into the NCAA Outdoor pole vault final where Arkansas has amassed 126.2 team points over that span dating back to 2001. The impressive streak includes a pair of gold medalist, eight silver medalists, and 26 first-team All-America honors.

Finishing the evening with the 10,000m, Noe placed second with a time of 33:54.76 to finish behind the 33:46.23 by Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe. Thorvaldson, who qualified for her second consecutive NCAA 10,000m final, clocked 34:11.27 in fifth place.

Noe was one of two freshmen to advance from the NCAA West 10k along with UTEP’s Sandra Maiyo, who placed 12th.

In an extraordinary qualifying effort for the quarterfinals on Saturday, Arkansas advanced 13 athletes in seven events.

Half of that total came in one event, the 400m. The Razorbacks, spread out over five heats, won four of the heats they were in.

Amber Anning led the Arkansas crew with a facility record of 50.23, which bettered the 50.39 set by Auburn’s Joanna Atkins during the NCAA Championships held in Fayetteville in 2009.

Also bettering that facility mark were Rosey Effiong and Nickisha Pryce with heat wins of 50.26 and 50.31, respectively. Kaylyn Brown claimed another section in 51.17 with teammate Aaliyah Pyatt runner-up in 52.34. Joanne Reid advanced with a 52.54 for third in her heat.

Adriane Linton advanced to the quarter finals in a pair of events, the 100m and 200m, where she posted times of 11.16w [3.7 wind] to win her section and a 23.08w [2.9 wind] for third in her heat.

A 12.98 in the 100m hurdles moved Destiny Huven to equal No. 7 on the UA all-time list as she finished second to a collegiate-leading time of 12.49 for Washington State’s Maribel Caicedo.

Tiana LoStracco earned qualification to the quarterfinals in the 1,500m as she placed fourth in the opening heat with a 4:19.35. Mary Ellen Eudaly placed seventh in another heat with a 4:24.48.

A pair of Razorbacks advanced in the 800m with Sanu Jallow and Analisse Batista registering times of 2:04.88 and 2:04.92 in separate heats. Batista set a career best with her effort. Ainsley Erzen finished eighth in another heat with a 2:10.06.

Rachel Glenn cruised to a time of 55.65 to lead the field in the 400m hurdles. On Saturday she will contest the high jump and the quarterfinals of the 400m hurdles.

Qualifiers to Eugene | NCAA Championships
Pole Vault | Rachel Homoly
Long Jump | Nia Robinson
10,000 | Paityn Noe, Sydney Thorvaldson

Qualifiers to Quarterfinal | NCAA West
13 athletes & entries | 7 events