No. 2 Razorbacks host SEC Indoor, aim for ninth consecutive team title

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 2 Arkansas serves as host of the SEC Indoor Championships at Randal Tyson Track Center this Friday and Saturday seeking a ninth consecutive team title.

The Razorbacks rank No. 2 in the latest national rating index behind Texas with nine SEC teams ranked among the top 25. The top 10 includes Florida, Oregon, NC State, Alabama, Washington, LSU, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee.

Other conference schools in the top 25 include Texas A&M (11), Georgia (13), Ole Miss (15), and Kentucky (18).

In conference rankings, which measure the depth of a team, Arkansas has a distinct margin over the SEC and are followed by Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Ole Miss.

“We’re trying to get all the pieces of this puzzle to interlock and create a team that can vie for another title is the challenge at hand,” said Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter. “We’re probably not the favorite. I think Florida will come in as the favorite, but the meet, according to the Florida coach, will be basically a dual between the two of us and third place is way behind.

“Every time we are head-to-head with Florida it will be crucial. Our strengths against their strengths basically.”

Since joining the SEC in the early 1990s and hosting for the first time in 2000, the Razorbacks have previously hosted the SEC Indoor meet on 10 occasions and claimed the women’s team title five times at the Tyson Center.

Arkansas and LSU are currently tied for the most SEC Indoor championships with 12 apiece. The last title won by LSU occurred in 2011 in Fayetteville.

“You want to win the SEC meet, no doubt about it, but at the same time not at the cost of your best team at the national championships, which is only a week and a half away,” stated Harter. “Both meets are very important and obviously the highlight of our indoor season. At the same time, you have to consider what is best for each athlete.”

Heading into the conference championships the weekend, athletes from the SEC are currently world leaders in three events, two of which set collegiate records, and collegiate leaders in five additional events.

The Arkansas 4 x 400 relay, which set a collegiate record of 3:24.09 at last year’s conference meet, leads the world with a 3:26.40 this season. The Razorbacks have won the past two SEC Indoor relay titles and have a collection of six titles in the event.

Britton Wilson is the leader in the 600m, with a collegiate record of 1:25.40, but this event is not contested in the SEC meet. At 400m, Wilson has the second fastest time in the SEC and is third fastest nationally with a 51.14.

Wilson competed in the 800m for the first time in her career at the Arkansas Qualifier last week and produced a time of 2:02.13, which is sixth fastest in the nation and third best in the SEC.

“Britton is going to be in the 800, which is a new event for her,” Harter said. “Talk about learn by doing. She is literally going to be learning the event as the SEC meet evolves.”

Razorback Rosey Effiong leads the SEC in the 400m with a 51.02, followed by Wilson. Arkansas’ depth in the event includes six of the top eight times in the league this indoor season. Four Razorbacks have won five 400m titles in the SEC Indoor, the most recent being Diana Harper in 2017.

The 400m crew will include Amber Anning, Joanne Reid, Nickisha Pryce, Paris Peoples, Ashanti Denton, and Aaliyah Pyatt. Reid and Pryce will race in the 200m while Ariane Linton does the 60-200 double.

Amanda Fassold, the 2022 SEC Outdoor champion and NCAA silver medalist, is the top collegian in the pole vault this indoor season at 14-10.75 (4.54). Seven Arkansas vaulters have totaled 11 victories during the SEC Indoor.

The Arkansas crew in the pole vault also includes Bailee McCorkle, Kaitlyn Banas, and Marin Chamberlin.

In addition to winning the event on a regular basis, Razorback depth in the event accounts for generous point production in the conference meet. Last year the pole vault crew scored 21.5 points while in 2021 the tally was 11 and 10 in 2020.

Lauren Gregory, who shared high point honors in 2022, is the defending champion at 3,000m and this season leads the league in the mile. She also anchored the distance medley relay that currently leads the SEC and broke the Arkansas school record.

A year ago, Gregory became the 13th Razorback to win the SEC Indoor 3,000m, of which Arkansas has totaled 14 victories, with Lilli Kleinmann the lone double winner in 2000 and 2001. In the mile, 13 Razorbacks have earned 13 titles with Gregory winning the event at the 2019 SEC Indoor.

“Lauren will run the mile and come back in the 3,000m,” noted Harter. “She is in the pool for the distance medley. I think we can run a different distance medley that will still be effective as far as scoring points, but maybe not win it out right. So, we can get more bang for our buck by having Lauren in open events and a little more fresh.”

Joining Gregory in the mile are Mary Ellen Eudaly and Carmie Prinsloo. Additional Razorbacks in the 3,000m include Sydney Thorvaldson, Gracie Hyde, Heidi Nielson, and Claire McCune. Doubling in the 5k are Thorvaldson, Nieslon, and McCune.

Arkansas has won the distance medley relay on seven occasions at the conference indoor meet, the most recent being in 2020.

Kentucky’s Masai Russell set a collegiate record in the 60m hurdles earlier this season with a 7.75 performance in Lubbock. Razorback Ackera Nugent, the Big 12 champion a year ago with Baylor, has the second fastest collegiate time this season at 7.88, which broke the UA school record. Joining Nugent are Daszay Freeman and Yoveinny Mota.

Sydney Billington is entered in the high jump while Madison Langley-Walker competes in the pentathlon, an event she placed fourth in at the 2022 Big 12 Indoor while with Oklahoma.

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