Arkansas Captures 19th SEC Outdoor Title
Full Results | Watch Sunday on ESPN2 at 2 p.m.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Behind an incredible final day performance, the fourth-ranked Arkansas men’s track and field team went from second place to a 20-point win at the 2016 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Outdoor Championships to complete the program’s 15th SEC Triple Crown.
The Razorbacks bested three of the strongest programs in the country, taking down No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Florida and No. 3 LSU en route to their 19th SEC outdoor title with a score of 121, good for a 20-point margin over the second-place Aggies.
Arkansas senior captain Jarrion Lawson led the way for the Razorbacks, collecting 20 points towards the team total. Lawson took home the title the long jump, a runner-up finish with the 4-x-100-meter relay squad, a fourth-place showing in the 100 and sixth place finish in the 200.
Other Razorback individual event champions included Frankline Tonui in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Clive Pullen who won the triple jump with an NCAA-leading mark of 16.78/55-0 3/4.
SEC Scorers
In the middle distance and distance events the Razorbacks accumulated 51 points. Jack Bruce, Austen Dalquist, Alex George and Wallace all placed in the 5K, while Carlton Orange and Ryan Thomas did the same in the 800. Arkansas also placed two in the 10K (Gabe Gonzalez and Andrew Ronoh) and steeplechase (Tonui and Wallace) while Bruce backed up his 5K performance in the 1,500.
The sprint events were highlighted by the aforementioned 4-x-100 relay runner-up finish as the Razorback relay team of Kenzo Cotton, Lawson, Roy Ejiakuekwu and Josh Washington combined to run the third-fastest time in program history at 38.96 seconds. The quartet joins LSU as the only other program to post a sub-39 second performance in the event this season.
Along with Lawson, Cotton contributed in the open sprints placing fifth behind his teammate in the 100 racing to a lifetime best of 10.28.
Hurdle trio Davon Anderson, Larry Donald and Kemar Mowatt all contributed to the team win, Anderson placing fourth in the 110 hurdles with a PR of 13.82, while Mowatt and Donald finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 400 hurdles.
Ken LeGassey added eight points to the team total with a second-place finish in the high jump off a clearance of 2.19/7-2 1/4.
Decathletes Lane Austell and Derek Jacobus also had productive weekends, as the combined event performers both posted top-eight finishes in the event. Jacobus led the way with a new PR of 7,356 points for seventh place.
The Razorbacks capped the afternoon with a seventh-place finish in the 4-x-400 off the heels of Ejiakuekwu, Eric Janise, Anderson and Obi Igbokwe.
SEC Championship – Result
100 – J. Lawson (4) 10.24 (final) 10.39Q, K. Cotton (5) 10.28 (final) | 10.30Q R. Ejiakuekwu (20) 10.64
200 – J. Lawson (6) 20.56 (final) | 20.56Q, J. Washington (12) 20.79, K. Cotton (21) 21.06, R. Ejiakuekwu (29) 21.27, M. Washington (39) 21.94
400 – O. Igbokwe (13) 46.95, E. Janise (15) 47.31
800 – R. Thomas (5) 1:47.62 (final) | 1:48.34Q, C. Orange (6) 1:47.71 (final) | 1:47.75Q
1,500 – J. Bruce (3) 3:51.10 (final) | 3:46.53Q, A. Dalquist (13) 3:48.16, A. George (15) 3:48.31
5,000 – A. George (4) 14:08.08, A. Dalquist (6) 14:17.43, C. Wallace (7) 14:20.44, J. Bruce (8) 14:25.08, F. Tonui (9) 14:25.66
10,000 – G. Gonzalez (3) 29:50.01, A. Ronoh (5) 29:53.93
110H – D. Anderson (4) 13.82 (final) | 13.93Q, K. Mowatt (12) 14.24, L. Donald (16) 14.46
400H – K. Mowatt (4) 50.68 (final) | 51.14Q, L. Donald (6) 51.60 (final) | 51.70Q
3KSC – F. Tonui (1) 8:39.82, C. Wallace (2) 8:41.47
4-x-100 – Arkansas (2) 38.96 K. Cotton, J. Lawson, R. Ejiakuekwu, J. Washington
4-x-400 – Arkansas (7) 3:08.49 R. Ejiakuekwu, E. Janise, D. Anderson, O. Igbokwe
High Jump – K. LeGassey (2) 2.19/7-2 1/4
Long Jump – J. Lawson (1) 7.91/25-11 1/2, A. Trajkovski (5) 7.48/24-6 1/2, R. Owens (10) 7.15/23-5 1/2, K. Jenner (11) 7.12/23-4 1/2
Triple Jump – C. Pullen (1) 16.78/55-0 3/4, R. Owens (11) 15.43/50-7 1/2
Shot Put – D. Randall (9) 17.24/56-6 3/4, J. Rogers (10) 16.98/55-8 1/2
Discus Throw – D. Randall (10) 52.03/170-8
Decathlon – D. Jacobus (7) 7,356, L. Austell (8) 7,276
Men’s Team Standings
1. Arkansas (121)
2. Texas A&M (101)
3. Alabama (88)
4. LSU (86)
5. Ole Miss (66.50)
6. Florida (64)
7. Georgia (58)
8. Missouri (55)
9. Tennessee (53.50)
10. Kentucky (48.50)
11. South Carolina (33.50)
12. Mississippi State (29)
13. Auburn (15).
The 2016 SEC Championship will air Sunday, May 15 via tape delay from 2-4 p.m. on ESPN2. For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
