No. 3 Arkansas seeks to extend SEC title streaks

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 3 Arkansas enters another SEC Indoor as the defending champion as action takes place this Friday and Saturday, February 25-26, inside Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the Texas A&M campus.

The Razorbacks have claimed the past seven SEC Indoor Championships as well as 21 of the past 22 SEC titles contested among cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons. Among those run of conference championships, Arkansas enjoyed 12 consecutive titles from 2014 SEC Outdoor to 2018 SEC Indoor.

Currently, the Razorbacks conference winning streak is nine consecutive titles over the three disciplines with the 2020 SEC Outdoor not held due to covid-19.

“It would be very special,” Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter said of winning another league crown to add to the 11 SEC Indoor titles the Razorbacks have claimed. “I think it’s a situation where every one of those championships we are trying to figure out the right combination of chemistry to put together to be competitive in this conference.”

Live results and schedule: https://flashresults.com/2022_Meets/Indoor/02-25_SEC/

Live stream on SEC Network +:

Friday early, stream at 11:40 a.m. CT – https://es.pn/35ofJEj

Friday late, stream at 5 p.m. CT – https://es.pn/3h8YlpR

Saturday early, stream at 1 p.m. CT – https://es.pn/3t45IEt

Saturday late, stream at 3:45 p.m. CT – https://es.pn/3Hs9QDL

Sunday linear, recap at 7 p.m. CT – https://es.pn/3sd1tau

In updated national rankings this week teams from the SEC among the top 10 included No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 7 Ole Miss, and No. 8 Texas A&M. In conference rankings, which factors in more team depth, the Razorbacks are No. 1 and followed by Florida, LSU, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

“Florida is ranked ahead of us nationally in the polls, and LSU is right behind us,” noted Harter. “The SEC is very formidable when it comes to the national rankings with six of the top eight teams. Our situation is we have to hold off everybody as best we can.”

Arkansas leads the SEC in four events heading into the Championships this weekend and a pair of those events are collegiate leaders this season as well.

“Shafiqua Maloney is the No. 1 half-miler among collegians and our distance medley relay is the collegiate leader as well,” said Harter. “Lauren Gregory is usually a factor in any event we enter her, and our pole vaulters are always a threat in the conference meet.

“We’re fortunate that we have people who are either national or SEC leaders, or in very good striking range, that we could maybe gather a few titlists which would help the team score.”

Maloney, a bronze medalist in the 2021 SEC Indoor, leads the nation with a 2:01.74 in the 800m and she also ran on the Razorback distance medley relay that registered the leading time of 10:51.63 this season and broke the Arkansas school record.

Gregory, the 2019 SEC mile champion, heads into the conference meet as the top miler in the league with a 4:32.67 while Logan Jolly (4:35.26) and Krissy Gear (4:37.11) rank third and fourth. Gear won the SEC Indoor mile last year with Gregory third.

It marked the fourth consecutive year for UA to claim the women’s mile title with a different gold medalist each season – Nikki Hiltz (2018 – 4:34.37), Lauren Gregory (2019 – 4:39.50), Carina Viljoen (2020 – 4:40.19), and Gear (2021 – 4:34.72).

The Razorbacks claimed the 4×400 relay with a meet record in 2021 in a very close race with Kentucky (3:28.50 to 3:28.82). The UA crew bettered a meet record of 3:29.06 set by LSU in 2005. Both schools enter this year’s conference meet with close seed times of 3:27.27 national leader for Wildcats and 3:28.39 for the Hogs, which ranks third this season nationally.

Arkansas’ trio of 60m hurdlers all scored in the final last season, totaling 13 points with Daszay Freeman claiming a silver medal. Freeman has posted a season best of 8.05 while Jayla Hollis and Yoveinny Mota produced career best times of 8.08 and 8.12, respectively.

Eleven points were supplied by the Razorback pole vaulters in 2021 with Nastassja Campbell leading the crew in fourth place. Campbell ranks second in the SEC this season with a career best vault of 14-7.25 (4.45) while Elien Vekemans ranks fourth with her career best of 14-5.25 (4.40).

A deep Arkansas sprint crew returns a medalist in Morgan Burks-Magee, who earned bronze in the 400m, while the Razorbacks totaled 12 points in the event. Eleven points were added in the 60m, with seven claimed in the 200m.

G’Auna Edwards will contest her first pentathlon of the season. She was a bronze medalist last year with a score of 4,068 points in the SEC meet. Edwards also finished sixth in the long jump last year, totaling nine team points.

Razorbacks making their debut in the SEC Indoor include Joanne Reid (200m), Ashanti Denton (400m), Carmie Prinsloo (mile, 3000m), Sydney Thorvaldson (3000m, 5000m), Sydney Billington (high jump), and Alexis Torns (triple jump).

2022 SEC Indoor Leaders

Women