No. 1 Razorbacks Win #SECTF Outdoor Title, Complete Triple Crown
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the third time in program history, the University of Arkansas women’s track and field team has won the SEC Triple Crown with their team title at the 2015 SEC Outdoor Championships. The Razorbacks finished the three-day meet with 127.5 points to secure the program’s fifth SEC outdoor crown. Arkansas has now won six of the past eight SEC competitions overall, dating back to the program’s 2013 indoor meet.
During Saturday’s action, the Razorbacks had SEC-title showings from Taylor Ellis-Watson at 400 meters and a double from Dominique Scott at 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Overall, the team added six titles to the program’s collection along with wins earlier in the weekend from Diane Robison at 10,000 meters, Jessica Kamilos in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Sandi Morris in the pole vault.
Scott won her second-career SEC outdoor title with her victory at 1,500 meters, leading a 1-4-7 finish for the Razorbacks in a 17-point performance toward the team total. She crossed the finish line in 4:15.20 to become the seventh runner in program history to win an SEC title at 1,500 meters, and the first to do so since 2007 (Dacia Barr). Scott was joined in the scoring by Kamilos and Therese Haiss, respectively.
In the penultimate event of the weekend, Scott and Robison combined for a 1-2 finish at 5,000 meters and, with a fifth-place finish from Valerie Reina, the distance trio added 22 points to the team total to help clinch the team title. Scott is the seventh Razorback in program history to win an SEC title at 5,000 meters and the second in a row; Robison won the title last year in Lexington, Ky. With her double win, Scott was the recipient of the Commissioner’s Trophy as the meet’s high-point scorer.
Ellis-Watson joined former standout Regina George as an SEC champion at 400 meters with her career-best performance to claim Arkansas’ second title of the day. In her first of two individual finals, Ellis-Watson circled the track in 51.18 for the No. 2 showing school history. The Razorbacks have won three of the past four SEC titles at 400 meters. Ellis-Watson was back on the track for a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter final.
Chrishuna Williams and Rebekka Simko combined for 13 points in the 800-meter final with their respective second- and fourth-place finishes. Williams crossed the finish line in 2:04.57 while Simko clocked in with a personal best 2:05.18 which is good for the No. 7 mark on the program’s all-time performance list. In the final event of the night, Williams teamed with Taliyah Brooks, Brianna Swinton and Regine Williams for an eighth-place finish in the 4×400-meter relay.
For the second-consecutive year, the Razorbacks picked up scoring from Amethyst Boyd in the javelin. The Razorback senior finished eighth in the event with a season-best throw of 48.53m/159-2, the second-best mark of her career. In the 400-meter final, R. Williams added another point with an eighth-place finish. She qualified for the final with a personal best of 53.91 in Friday’s prelims.
2015 SEC Outdoor Championships | Day 3
Mike Sanders Track and Field Complex
Starkville, Miss.
1. #1 Arkansas – 127.5
2. #9 Texas A&M – 104
3. #6 Kentucky – 99
4. #8 LSU – 84
5. #4 Florida – 83
6. #3 Georgia – 64
7. #16 Alabama – 55.5
8. #19 Mississippi State – 51
9. #25 Missouri – 42.66
10. Auburn – 28
11. Vanderbilt – 25.33
12. Ole Miss – 21
13. South Carolina – 19
14. Tennessee – 15
200 Meters
5. Taylor Ellis-Watson – 23.00 (+0.9) [4 points]
400 Meters
1. Taylor Ellis-Watson – 51.18 [PR – previous: 51.78] [10 points]
8. Regine Williams – 54.77 [1 point]
800 Meters
2. Chrishuna Williams – 2:04.57 [8 points]
4. Rebekka Simko – 2:05.18 [PR – previous: 2:05.69] [5 points]
1,500 Meters
1. Dominique Scott – 4:15.20 [10 points]
4. Jessica Kamilos – 4:21.19 [5 points]
7. Therese Haiss – 4:23.99 [2 points]
5,000 Meters
1. Dominique Scott – 16:06.52 [10 points]
2. Diane Robison – 16:07.81 [8 points]
5. Valerie Reina – 16:30.77 [4 points]
11. Regan Ward – 16:43.00
100m Hurdles
9. Taliyah Brooks – 13.46 (+1.8)
4x400m Relay
8. C. Williams/R. Williams/Brooks/Swinton – 3:37.42 [1 point]
Javelin
8. Amethyst Boyd – 48.53m/159-2 [SB] [1 point]
The 2015 SEC Outdoor Championships will also air as a two-hour highlight show May 21 on ESPNU at 7 p.m. (CT) with Dwight Stones and Larry Rawson handling play-by-play and color commentary duties, respectively, with Jill Montgomery reporting from the track.
Arkansas will next compete May 28-30 at the NCAA West Preliminary in Austin, Texas. Qualifiers will then advance to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships which will be contested June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
