John McDonnell Invitational starts Razorbacks’ outdoor home schedule
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas will host a field of 18 schools in the John McDonnell Invitational, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, April 7-8.
This will be the first of four outdoor meets the Razorbacks host at John McDonnell Field this season. In May, Arkansas hosts the Arkansas Twilight on May 6. That same weekend the University of Arkansas serves as host of the USATF Championships in the decathlon and heptathlon on May 6-7.
In late May, from the 25-28, the Razorbacks host the NCAA West Preliminary round to determine half the field for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
“This weekend is a matter of our kids having an opportunity to run in some open events,” Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter said. “We were able to get the 100m, 100m hurdles and both relays out of the way during the Texas Relays, but we still haven’t run the 200m, 400m, or even some in the 800m.
“From the 800m on down, we could have some quality performances for our crew if Mother Nature cooperates. Field event wise, this is always a great place to pole vault, and our vaulters are always an integral part of our program. They always like to jump at home.”
Teams scheduled to compete in the John McDonnell Invitational along with Arkansas include Arkansas State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, BYU, Central Arkansas, Drake, Iowa Central CC, Lindenwood, Arkansas-Little Rock, Missouri, Missouri State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Pittsburg State, SIU Edwardsville, South Dakota State, Tulsa, and Wichita State.
Thursday’s events include the men’s and women’s hammer throw, with the men starting at 3:30 p.m. and the women following at 6 p.m.
Friday’s competition begins at 9:45 a.m. with the women’s discus followed by the men’s division at 12:15 p.m. Running events start at 3:30 p.m. with the 3,000m steeplechase.
A live stream of the meet will start at 3:30 p.m. and be available on SEC Network +: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f7ac2a48-d751-4645-b776-90ef4e7ef42b.
Live results of the meet are available here: https://flashresults.com/2022_Meets/Outdoor/04-07_JMD/.
The first group of Arkansas athletes in action will be five pole vaulters at 3:15 p.m. on Friday. The crew includes Kaitlyn Banas, Amanda Fassold, Mackenzie Hayward, Bailee McCorkle, and Grace Ridgeway. Fassold leads the group outdoors with a mark of 13-11.25 (4.25) that ranks 12th nationally.
After setting a career best outdoors in the triple jump, Alexis Torns competes in the long jump along with teammate Georgia Brain.
Razorback sprinters and hurdlers will double up with 100m and 200m races. The group includes Rosey Effiong, Joanne Reid, Jayla Hollis, and Yoveinny Mota. Jada Baylark, who clocked a wind-aided 10.83 in the 100m at the Texas Relays, will compete in the 200m.
Racing in the 400m are Morgan Burks-Magee, Ashanti Denton, Quinn Owen, Paris Peoples, and Britton Wilson. In the Texas Relays, Wilson broke the UA record and meet record with a world-leading 54.37 performance in the final after clocking 54.60 in the prelim.
Wilson, who also holds the UA 400m indoor record at 50.88 seconds, has an outdoor best of 52.06 from high school.
A trio of Razorbacks entered in the 800m includes Carmie Prinsloo, Kennedy Thomson, and Isabel Van Camp. Entered in the 3,000m are Sydney Thorvaldson and Adoette Vaughan.
Arkansas alums in the meet include Taliyah Brooks (javelin) and Shafiqua Maloney (400m) while Razorback volunteer assistant Shamier Little also races in the 400m.
