Razorbacks punctuate four-day event in Fayetteville, with Effiong, Pryce, Brown and Anning running 3:21.92 to improve on 2022 effort of 3:21.93 by Kentucky at SEC Championships; Glenn advances in high jump and 400 hurdles, Oregon’s Mays prevails in both 100 and 200, with USC’s Jones moving on in both hurdling events

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photo courtesy of Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following the greatest showcase of 400-meter depth in NCAA history May 11 at the Southeastern Conference Championships, the Arkansas women’s team wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass without pursuing the collegiate record in the 4x400 relay Saturday at the Division 1 West Regional at their home venue at John McDonnell Field.

Rosey Effiong, Nickisha Pryce, Kaylyn Brown and Amber Anning took advantage of the big stage under the lights on the final evening of the four-day event and treated the Razorback faithful to another memorable moment, running 3 minutes, 21.92 seconds in the quarterfinals to eclipse the 2022 mark of 3:21.93 achieved by Kentucky at the SEC Championships in Oxford, Miss.

Arkansas now boasts both the indoor all-time collegiate mark of 3:21.75 from last year’s Division 1 final in Albuquerque, N.M., as well as the fastest outdoor 4x400, building momentum toward the NCAA championship meet June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Oregon.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

The Razorbacks took the first four spots earlier in the schedule in the 400 quarterfinals, with Jamaican standout Pryce achieving the top mark of 49.93 seconds, followed by Brown (49.98), Effiong (50.11) and British competitor Anning (50.19).

Pryce added a 49.90 split on the second leg of the 4x400 for Arkansas, which dominated Texas (3:27.22) and USC (3:27.28).

Rachel Glenn led all qualifiers in the 400 hurdles for the Razorbacks, clocking a lifetime-best 53.94 in the quarterfinals to elevate to the No. 8 all-time collegiate competitor.

USC’s Jasmine Jones, No. 7 in collegiate history at 53.87, ran 55.45 to also advance, along with Texas freshman Akala Garrett at 55.72 and Houston senior Sydni Townsend clocking 55.80.

Glenn also moved on in the high jump, with 11 of the 12 competitors advancing to Oregon clearing 6-0.50 (1.84m). She is looking to follow her Division 1 indoor championship in March in Boston by capturing the outdoor crown at Hayward Field, where Glenn also triumphed representing South Carolina as a freshman in 2021.

Jadyn Mays, a senior, was victorious in both the 100 and 200 quarterfinals for Oregon, running wind-aided marks of 10.83 and 22.13.

Arizona State’s Adriana Tatum, USC’s Jassani Carter and Texas Christian’s Iyana Gray also advanced in both the 100 and 200.

Maribel Caicedo of Washington State, representing Ecuador, prevailed in the 100-meter hurdles in a wind-aided 12.38 seconds, elevating among the top five all-conditions athletes in collegiate history.

Jones advanced in both hurdling events, achieving a wind-aided 12.58 seconds, with former Arkansas standout and Venezuelan competitor Yoveinny Mota running a wind-aided 12.66 to move on to Oregon.

Texas Tech, USC and Washington State each had a pair of qualifiers for the Division 1 semifinals in the 100 hurdles.

Ackelia Smith of Texas, a Jamaican athlete, followed her top performance Thursday in the long jump by securing victory in the triple jump with a wind-aided effort of 46-11.50 (14.31m) in the second round.

Temitope Ojora from USC, a British competitor, was second with a wind-legal mark of 45-7.25 (13.90m), followed by Swedish standout Emilia Sjostrand with a wind-aided 45-6.50 (13.88m) effort.

Texas Tech had three athletes advance, including reigning Division 1 indoor champion Ruta Lasmane of Latvia, and Nebraska produced a pair of qualifiers.

Juliet Cherubet, a freshman at Texas Tech representing Kenya, ran a personal-best 4:09.04 to emerge victorious in the 1,500 quarterfinals.

Sophie O’Sullivan, an Irish competitor from Washington, was second overall at 4:09.61.

Oregon and Washington both had a pair of athletes advance, including Polish competitor Klaudia Kazimierska for the Ducks, as she took third in 4:11.24.

Despite racing in separate sections, Stanford teammates Roisin Willis (2:01.04) and Juliette Whittaker (2:01.05) led all qualifiers in the 800, with Lithuanian standout Gabija Galvydyte also achieving a sub-2:02 performance by clocking 2:01.12.

UCLA was the only other program in the region with multiple individuals moving on to the semifinals in Oregon.

Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe and Arkansas athlete Sydney Thorvaldson were the only competitors to follow their qualification for the 10,000-meter final Thursday by also advancing to the 5,000 final.

Stanford’s Sophia Kennedy prevailed in her heat in 15:53.49, followed by Roe in 15:58.07, with Thorvaldson earning the automatic berth after finishing fifth in 16:04.22.

Colorado’s Bailey Hertenstein triumphed in the other semifinal heat in 15:54.17.

Colorado, Stanford and Northern Arizona all had multiple competitors move on, with Kennedy one of three freshmen to advance, along with Australian teammate Amy Bunnage and Cherubet from Texas Tech.

Greta Karinauskaite, a Lithuanian athlete competing for Cal Baptist, was the only competitor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals to produce a sub-10 race, prevailing in 9:40.22.

Laura Taborda of Arkansas, representing Portugal, won her heat to advance in 10:00.44, with Northern Arizona freshman Karrie Baloga running a personal-best 10:00.72 and Brigham Young’s Taylor Lovell clocking 10:01.03.

Baylor produced the top performance in the 4x100 relay with its victory in 42.66, followed by Arkansas in 42.70 and Texas Tech at 42.77, as the only three programs to eclipse the 43-second barrier.

Fresno State’s Jordyn Bryant was the only athlete in the women’s discus throw competition to surpass 200 feet, with an opening-round effort of 200-2 (61.03m).

Minnesota’s Shelby Frank, the hammer throw winner Thursday, also advanced in the discus by finishing second at 197-2 (60.10m).

Along with Bryant, collegiate shot put record holder Jaida Ross of Oregon and Colorado State’s Gabby Morris also advanced in both the discus and shot put.

Caisa-Marie Lindfors, a Swedish athlete representing Cal, who produced a personal-best 203-5 (62.00m) performance May 19 at the Oklahoma Throws Series, was unable to advance out of the regional following a 15th-place effort at 182 feet (55.49m).