Rosey Effiong wins 400m with second fastest time in UA history

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas sprinter Rosey Effiong registered a victory in the 400m, defeating teammate Britton Wilson on the first day of the Tyson Invitational at Randal Tyson Track Center.

Effiong’s winning time of 51.02, equal to the fifth fastest time on the 2023 world list, bettered the meet record of 51.16 set by Tiandra Ponteen (Reebok) in 2006 and ranks her No. 2 on the UA all-time list behind Wilson’s school record 50.88. Effiong’s previous best of 51.82 was from the 2021 season.

Wilson posted a 51.14 in her first 400m of the season while teammate Amber Anning finished third in 51.88. Wilson’s time currently ranks eighth on the 2023 world list.

The next group of Razorbacks finished 4-6-7-8 in the field, led by Nickisha Pryce (52.35), as career best times were registered by Aaliyah Pyatt (52.63) and Joanne Reid (52.72) while Paris Peoples (52.76) finished eighth.

Arkansas’ depth in the event went even deeper with Ashanti Denton (53.94) and Tiana Wilson (53.94) posting the same time in separate sections.

A pair of Razorbacks competing in the Invitational pole vault had Grace Ridgeway finishing ninth with a 13-6.5 (4.13) clearance while Kaitlyn Banas tied for 10th place with a 13-0.25 (3.98) height.

In the first section of the pole vault, Arkansas teammates Marin Chamberlin and Bailee McCorkle finished first and second with both clearing 13-6.5 (4.13) over a field of 17 vaulters.

Chamberlin, who cleared the winning height on her first attempt, initially equaled her career best of 13-0.75 (3.98) with a second attempt at the bar and then improved her PR to 13-6.5. McCorkle needed a third attempt clearance at both of those heights and placed second based on misses.

Arkansas alum Jada Baylark posted a 7.23 victory in the open 60m. In the 300m, a career best of 36.71 by professional Alexis Holmes earned a win over national records from Nicole Yeargin (36.80) of Great Britain and Sada Williams (37.13) of Barbados.

In the collegiate 60m, Razorback Ariane Linton advanced to the final after posting prelims career best times of 7.37 and 7.35, then finishing sixth in the final with a third consecutive career best 7.33, which ranks No. 9 on the UA all-time list.

The Invitational long jump had Tara Davis, who trains in Fayetteville, improving her U.S. lead in 2023 to 22-1.75 (6.75) to finish ahead of two Florida Gators in Jasmine Moore (22-1.5|6.74) and Claire Bryant (21-4|6.50).

In the other section of the long jump, Madison Langley-Walker placed second with a mark of 19-9.5 (6.03) while Kessiah Bemis finished 10th (18-5.5|5.60).

Racing in Seattle at the Husky Classic, hosted by Washington, Lauren Gregory led an Invitational field during the latter half of the 3,000m and finished fifth with a time of 9:00.05. In an earlier section of the event a pair of career best times were turned in by Gracie Hyde (9:16.01) and Mia Cochran (9:29.86) with Laura Taborda (9:28.95) racing in another section.

Sydney Thorvaldson finished eighth in a section of the 5,000m where she finished eighth with a 15:54.83, an improvement on her previous indoor best of 16:00.14 as she moved to No. 6 on the UA all-time list.

An additional pair of career best times were set by Heidi Nielson and Claire McCune in their section of the 5,000m.

Nielson finished third with a 16:18.94 in her indoor debut at this distance, bettering her outdoor best of 16:30.50. McCune placed fourth in the second with a 16:19.85 effort that bettered her previous indoor best of 16:51.90. Placing 16th in the section was Nyah Hernandez with a career best of 16:44.51.