UA track teams wrap up weekend meets – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas senior Lauren Martinez, a transfer from California, cleared a personal-best 14 feet, 4 1/2 inches to win the pole vault Saturday at the Tyson Invitational for the No. 2-ranked Razorbacks.

Martinez, a Pacific-12 Conference champion in 2018, had a previous best of 14-0 3/4 earlier this season. Her mark on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Center is the sixth best on Arkansas’ top 10 list.

Arkansas sophomore Bailee McCorkle cleared 14-2 1/2 to take second.

“I’ve been waiting to P.R. [personal record] for a year now,” Martinez said in a UA news release. “It was a great feeling and I was very excited. When it came down to just Bailee and I, it was nice having a teammate there as we both attempted a P.R. I’ve been working on some technical stuff and I think today it finally clicked a little bit.”

The Razorback’ 1,600-meter relay team of Rosey Effiong (55.08), Morgan Burks-Magee (52.87), Tiana Wilson (53.34) and Paris Peoples (53.59) took second in 3:34.87 behind LSU’s winning time of 3:32.87.

Wilson ran a career-best 23.49 to take fourth in the 200.

Arkansas’ distance runners competed at the Husky Classic in Seattle, where on Friday senior Katie Izzo ran a personal-best 8:55.67 to take fourth in the 3,000, and senior Carina Viljoen ran 8:56.63 for sixth.

Izzo’s performance ranks second on the Arkansas all-time indoor list, trailing only the record 8:52.57 set by Dominique Scott in 2015. Viljoen’s effort ranks No. 4 on the Razorback all-time list.

Arkansas senior Abby Gray ran a personal-best 16:15.72 in the 5,000 to finish fifth among collegians and 15th overall.

Izzo came back Saturday and took fifth in the mile in 4:35.05. Viljoen (4:35.33) and Krissy Gear (4:36.59) finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

“Obviously, the opportunity to divide the forces and let our sprint and jump crew do a great job at the Tyson Invitational and then our distance crew to run some all-time best time and national marks worked well,” UA women’s track and field coach Lance Harter said in a news release. “It further prepares us to be competitive at the SEC Championships, and ultimately at the national meet.”

Arkansas senior Laquan Nairn went 52-10 1/4 on his final triple jump attempt to win the Tyson Invitational title. The jump moved him from third to first.

“It shows how positive our thoughts can be going into a situation where I was sitting in third place for most of the competition,” Nairn said in a news release. “It shows how hard we’re training and how everything is coming together.”

The Razorbacks’ 1,600 relay team of Lesley Mahlakoane (47.29), Jeremy Farr (45.44), Jalen Brown (46.62) and Hunter Woodhall (45.46) ran 3:04.81 to take second behind North Carolina A&T, which won in 3:04.12.

Arkansas junior Emmanuel Cheboson, a transfer from Louisville, took sixth in the 5,000 at the Husky Classic in 13:41.90 for the No. 20-ranked Razorbacks. He’s now No. 6 on the Arkansas all-time list.

Sports on 02/16/2020