FAYETTEVILLE -- The No. 1 Arkansas women's track and field team opened its 2019 campaign Friday night at the Arkansas Invitational at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track.
"It was a great opener," said head coach Lance Harter. "We were able to convince everyone that Christmas break is over. Our vaulters exceeded any expectations by anyone -- which obviously there's tremendous talent in that group.
"We had some fantastic performances in the 60-meters and the deuce (200-meters) that were a pleasant surprise. In the distances, we did some things that I think were more tactical than they were about time. All in all, I think our peers have chosen us to be No. 1. Today, I think we acted like that."
Arkansas had a handful of performances that will likely finish the weekend in the top-10 of the NCAA track and field rankings, including the second-best vault in the world this year by Lexi Jacobus who cleared 14-8.75 feet to take the women's pole vault competition.
On the track, the Razorbacks were led by performances from Kiara Parker in the 60-meters, Payton Chadwick in the 200-meters, Tiana Wilson in the 400-meters, Meghan Underwood in the 800-meters and Carina Viljoen in the mile, all of whom won their respective events Friday afternoon.
Parker is tied for the NCAA lead entering this weekend running 7.26 to set a new personal-best. Chadwick's time in the 200-meters would've led the nation entering the meet after she clocked a 23.35 in the one-lap race. Viljoen ran the fastest mile in Division I with her time of 4:47.11.
The Razorback vaulters will be in action this week in Reno, Nev., for the USA Pole Vault Summit. The rest of the team will take the week off to prepare for the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 25-26 at Randal Tyson.
A school record in the weight throw by Erich Sullins was the highlight of the meet for the men's team, which is ranked No. 8 in the country by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
"It was a great start for the team," said head coach Chris Bucknam. "It's a long season and a long year, and this is the first step in heading towards our championship season. We got to see how guys responded after being away for Christmas break and got to see a lot of newcomers and freshman.
"Sullins finished with a best of 69-2 feet, which is currently 12th in the NCAA. Roy Ejiakuekwu finished one one-hundredth of a second off his personal best in the 60-meters with his time of 6.72.
Carl Elliot III took the top spot in the 60-meter hurdles running a PR of 7.89. The men's 4x400-meter relay also picked up a win, running a combined time of 3:14.27 to close out the meet. Kieran Taylor also won the 1,000-meter race.
"It's a quick turnaround to the next meet," Bucknam said. "The season ramps up pretty quick, going from a rust buster in the Arkansas Invitational to a prime-time meet on national television.
"We're going to be here in two weeks and we're going to have to perform. There'll be two weeks of practice to recover and improve. We usually get a few national qualifying marks at the Razorback Invitational. We'll see some really good Power-5 teams there and it'll be our first true test of the season."
Sports on 01/15/2019