BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Arkansas finished fourth in team scoring at the NCAA Indoor Championships, scoring 22 points on the final day in four events for a total of 40 points, reaching the podium and earning a trophy.
“We had some give and take with the athletes we had entered in the meet,” stated Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter. “But the end result was we were able to get 40 points, and that’s the total I thought was secure to be on the podium. Any time you get on the podium and get a trophy, that’s a special day.”
The Razorbacks finished the meet with a victory in the 4x400m relay, posting a time of 3:27.23. It completed a historic feat as Arkansas became the first school to win both the 4×400 and distance medley relay in the same national championship meet.
“Any time you can establish history, that’s extra special,” noted Harter. “When you win both in the same meet, that just shows you the balance of your program. The strength of the distance side and be able to come back and repeat that victory in the 4×400 shows you the strength on the sprint side.
“Considering the new window they compete in, having only a two hour total day, makes its very tough and demanding, so you need to have depth as well. Our depth proved to be very strong.”
Prior to the distance medley being added to the NCAA Indoor schedule in 1994, Tennessee claimed the 4×400 and 4×800 relay titles in the 1984 national indoor meet.
Florida won the team title with 68 points, followed by Texas (56) and Kentucky (44). The rest of the top 10 behind Arkansas included LSU (29.5), Virginia Tech (29), Ole Miss (29), BYU (26.2), NC State (25), and Texas A&M (24).
The Razorbacks rallied from third place to first during the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay as Britton Wilson supplied a split of 50.60 to overtake the pair of teams ahead of her. Texas finished second with a 3:28.60 while Kentucky claimed third in 3:28.77.
“I knew we had something to prove and something to run for,” noted Wilson after Arkansas broke the collegiate record in winning the SEC title two weeks prior to the NCAA Indoor. “I’m just excited to see what we can do as a team.
“I was thinking, just get in front, I didn’t think about how much of the race was left. I just let the adrenaline take me to the finish line.”
After anchoring the collegiate record performance at the SEC meet with a 49.83 split, second fastest ever on a 4×400 relay, Wilson’s produced another stellar split to claim the national championship. Her 50.60 split was the fastest of the final. The anchor legs for Texas and Kentucky had splits of 50.78 (Kennedy Simon) and 52.75 (Alexis Holmes), respectively.
Running the first three legs for Arkansas were Rosey Effiong (52.45), Jayla Hollis (52.71), and Shafiqua Maloney (51.47).
The 10 points from the final event kept the Razorbacks in fourth place after six points from Lauren Gregory for a third-place finish in the 3,000m moved them into a podium position.
Gregory posted a time of 8:59.50 in challenging for the victory. Taylor Roe of Oklahoma State won the race in 8:58.95 over a 8:59.20 from Katelyn Tuohy of North Carolina State. Gregory produced 11 team points after also placing fourth in the 5,000m on Friday.
“What a fantastic field for the 3,000m,” said Harter. “Lauren just rose the challenge after the 5,000m the previous night. What was really exemplary was the way she was able to close. Her last 800m was 2:09, which is a PR, and her last quarter was 63.
“Again, it’s a tribute to the evolution of her career and how she continues to get stronger and much more savvy as a tactician.”
Additional points for Arkansas were scored by Wilson in the 400m (51.52) and Maloney in the 800m (2:05.09), as both finished sixth.
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