UA 4 x 100 record highlights first day at NCAA Championships
EUGENE – A school record in the 4 x 100m relay highlighted the women’s first day at the NCAA Championships on Thursday as Arkansas picked up a pair of team points and advanced very well to Saturday’s finals with 10 entries in seven events.
Sydney Thorvaldson finished seventh to earn two team points in the 10,000m with a time of 32:50.47. Paityn Noe was the top freshman finisher in placing ninth with a career best time of 32:50.47, which moves her to No. 6 on the UA all-time list.
Racing action began with the Razorbacks producing a school record of 42.45 in the 4 x 100m relay, which was second fastest in advancing to the final. The previous record of 42.65 was set in 2019.
The Razorback foursome included Ariane Linton, Rosey Effiong, Kaylyn Brown, and Amber Anning. They became the No. 9 school in collegiate history while Ole Miss moved to No. 5 with a leading time of 42.22.
Other schools advancing to the final include LSU (42.64), South Carolina (42.66), Texas Tech (42.95), Texas (42.97), Oregon (43.02), Clemson (43.26), and Baylor (43.34).
Arkansas finished off the evening by generating the fastest time in the 4 x 400m relay among the teams advancing to the final. The Razorbacks ran 3:25.51 with a foursome of Aaliyah Pyatt (52.98), Nickisha Pryce (50.24), Effiong (50.83), and Anning (51.46).
The times trailing Arkansas included South Carolina (3:27.10), Houston (3:27.55), Tennessee (3:27.65), and Texas (3:27.79).
In between the two relay events, Arkansas produced eight individual finalists, with half of that total in one event, the 400m.
Rachel Glenn improved her career best to 53.80 in the 400m hurdles, which ranks her the No. 7 collegian performer all-time and No. 2 on the UA all-time list. The time is a collegiate leader for 2024 and ranks third among Americans and fifth in the world for the season.
On Saturday, Glenn will high jump with a start time of 2 p.m. (PT), and the final of the 400m hurdles will be at 3:57 p.m. (PT).
In the 400m, Arkansas posted the top four times as the Razorbacks became the first school to place four sprinters in a NCAA women’s final.
Brown, the fastest American 19-year-old ever, led the crew with a 49.82 to claim the third heat. Pryce won the second heat in 49.87 followed by Effiong in 50.42. Anning won the first heat in 50.67.
Arkansas had a trio of 400m finalist in Austin last year, becoming the sixth school to accomplish the feat. Texas (1996, 2014) and South Carolina (2001, 2002) achieved three in a 400m final twice while USC (2021) did it once.
The Razorbacks will occupy lanes 5-6-7-8 with Anning, Brown, Pryce, and Effiong.
Following the UA 4 x 100 school record, Laura Taborda followed with a career best 9:48.48 to place second in the first heat. She moves to No. 5 on the UA all-time list.
Sanu Jallow, racing in heat 2 of the 800m, finished second in 2:00.40 behind a 1:59.90 from LSU’s Michaela Rose. A windy 12.72 for Destiny Huven in the 100m hurdles enabled her to advance to the final on time.
Nia Robinson finished 12th in the long jump with a mark of 20-7 (6.27). Freshman Rachel Homoly placed 18th in the pole vault with a clearance of 13-7.25 (4.15). Linton, a qualifier in the 100m and 200m, posted times of 11.33 and 23.27.
