Double SEC gold for Razorbacks with Campbell and Gear
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A pair of victories highlighted the second day of the SEC Championships for the Razorbacks as Nastassja Campbell won the pole vault and Krissy Gear claimed the 3,000m steeplechase with an Arkansas school record.
In addition to the pair of victories, depth in the pair of events provided the Razorbacks with a total of 38 points, with 23 in the pole vault and 15 in the steeplechase.
Through the second day of the conference meet Arkansas leads with 51 points over Alabama (47), Auburn (36), Georgia (35), Ole Miss (30) and LSU (26).
The Razorbacks also advanced well, qualifying nine more to Saturday finals with three each in the 100m hurdles and 1,500 along with a pair in the 400m and one in the 100m.
Auburn’s Joyce Kimeli had a commanding lead in the steeplechase, but Gear steadily tracked her down. A final lap of 1:09.97 by Gear, compared to a 1:20.77 for Kimeli, enabled Gear to catch and pass Kimeli for a victory in a time of 9:38.62.
In addition to a school record Gear also set a meet record, and both were previously held by the same person Jessica Kamilos. The previous meet record was 9:48.16 set in 2016 while the Arkansas school record of 9:41.28 was also set in 2016.
Placing sixth and seventh for the Razorbacks were Gracie Hyde (10:04.20) and Logan Morris (10:04.55), who moved to No. 7 on the UA all-time list.
Campbell improved her collegiate lead to 14-10 ¾ (4.54), which is a career best and keeps her at No. 5 on the UA all-time list. After needed three attempts to get over 14-8 ¾ (4.49), Campbell made 14-10 ¾ (4.54) on her first attempt and the lone vaulter to do so of the four that were still in the competition.
Lauren Martinez tied for second place with LSU’s Lisa Gunnarsson as they both cleared 14-8 ¾ on first attempts to shar the lead at that point. It was a career best vault for Martinez and moved her to No. 6 on the UA all-time list.
Mackenzie Hayward followed in fifth place, setting a career best of 14-0 ¾ (4.29), while Bailee McCorkle produced an outdoor best of 13-9 (4.19) to finish seventh. Kaitlyn Banas tied for 12th, clearing 12-9 (3.89).
G’Auna Edwards competed in the long jump, placing 10th with a mark of 19-11 ¾ (6.09).
In qualifying, the Razorbacks advanced Daszay Freeman (12.92), Yoveinny Mota (13.04) and Jayla Hollis (13.04) in the 100m hurdles as well as the trio of Carina Viljoen (4:17.93), Isabel Van Camp (4:19.17), and Kennedy Thomson (4:23.88) in the 1,500m.
In a pair of sprint events, Tiana Wilson (51.85) and Morgan Burks-Magee (52.55) qualified in the 400m while Jada Baylark won her heat of the 100m (11.32) to auto qualify.
Arkansas Medalists
10,000: Katie Izzo – Silver
Pole Vault: Nastassja Campbell – Gold, Lauren Martinez – Silver
Steeplechase: Krissy Gear – Gold
Arkansas Qualifier to Finals
200: Tiana Wilson, Jada Baylark
800: Shafiqua Maloney
100H: Daszay Freeman, Yoveinny Mota, Jayla Hollis
1,500: Carina Viljoen, Isabel Van Camp, Kennedy Thomson
400: Tiana Wilson, Morgan Burks-Magee
100: Jada Baylark
