Wilson clocks 49.40 seconds in qualifying heat, Armstrong runs wind-aided 12.31 seconds in prelim race; Garland adds No. 2 all-time collegiate decathlon performance to resume, Moore repeats in long jump to secure 10th career conference crown, with Fassold, Pinnock and West also defending titles
By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor
Photos by Jamison Michael
BATON ROUGE, La. – There were the strength-in-numbers showcases that teams contending for Southeastern Conference Championships have been known to produce, as well as the singular, spectacular moments that come as no surprise, even in a qualifying heat, at the most demanding and decorated college meet anywhere in May.
RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | DAY 2 PHOTOS
On the same day Arkansas had four female pole vaulters accumulate 25 points and a quartet of Razorbacks men’s long jumpers combine for 21 points, the program also celebrated another exceptional effort Friday from junior Britton Wilson, who lowered her own collegiate record in the women’s 400 meters to 49.40 seconds at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track and Field Stadium.
Wilson, one of four Arkansas athletes to advance to the 400 final Saturday, wasn’t alone in achieving collegiate history, with LSU junior Alia Armstrong running a wind-aided 12.31 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles prelims, the best all-conditions performance all-time by an NCAA athlete.
Armstrong, who was supported by a +2.2 meters per second wind, had run a wind-aided 12.33 (+2.5 m/s) last year at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.
Kentucky’s Masai Russell, the collegiate record holder with a wind-legal 12.36 effort April 1 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, also qualified for Saturday’s final with a wind-aided 12.47 performance in her prelim heat.
Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, the collegiate indoor record holder in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.72 seconds, also advanced to Saturday’s 100 hurdles championship race with a wind-aided 12.49 effort.
Nugent will look to build on the collective performance of Amanda Fassold, Mackenzie Hayward, Marin Chamberlain and Kaitlyn Banas in the pole vault final, as all four Arkansas athletes placed in the top five.
Fassold repeated as champion with a first-attempt clearance at 14-3.25 (4.35m), giving the Razorbacks three consecutive titles and eight in the past nine years.
Texas A&M’s Heather Abadie, representing Canada, produced a personal-best 14-3.25 clearance on her first try to place second, with Hayward clearing the height on her…
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