No. 1 Texas soars at both the Tyson Invitational and Iowa State Classic

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- One day after posting top national times in the 60, 400 and 5,000 meters, the Track and Field team capped off the indoor regular season Saturday at the Tyson Invitational  and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, with more impressive performances, including a stellar 4x400-meter relay time.

In the final event of the day at the Tyson Invitational, the top-ranked Texas women posted the best 4x400-meter relay time in the nation this season and a mark just outside the all-time indoor collegiate top 10. The foursome of Kendall Baisden, Briana Nelson, Courtney Okolo and Ashley Spencer crossed the finish line in 3 minutes, 30.12 seconds, well ahead of second-place Texas Tech (3:34.15) and eclipsing Oregon's national-leading 3:30.52a (adjusted for altitude) recorded Friday at the Don Kirby Elite meet in Albuquerque, N.M. Texas A&M's time of 3:29.93 at the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championships ranks No. 10 on the all-time performance list.

With that time, the Longhorns are nearly assured of a trip to nationals in the 4x400 relay with the schools posting the top 12 times earning bids. 

Okolo also finished second in the 200 Saturday in a personal-best 23.48, a time which places her among the top 15 on this year's NCAA performers list. The top 16 in each individual event advance to next month's NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque.

Spencer entered the meet ranked tied for 11th nationally in the 200m (23.46) and Friday she posted the second-best 400 time in the nation (52.33), surpassing Okolo's 52.51a, which is third.

While 38 men and women made the trip to Arkansas, a contingent of 22 (mostly distance runners) headed to Iowa State.

The Longhorns unofficially have four athletes among the top 13 on this season's women's 400-meter national performers list. Nelson, who was also competing in her first 400 race of the year Friday, clocked a time of 53.15, which ranks tied for 12th this season. Baisden, just a freshman, had a career-best 53.23 in that race (No. 13 in the nation).

Givans had a breakout performance Friday at Arkansas against some of the top sprinters in the nation. He improved his personal best time in all three 60-meter races, including a 6.64 in the finals, a time tied for the sixth-best performance in school history and No. 16 on the 2014 collegiate performers list.

Sara Sutherland shined at Iowa State Friday. She clocked the eighth-best 5,000-meter time in the nation at 15:53.98, which was just off her career best and UT record 15:50.04 (2013). The senior has posted the top four indoor 5,000 times in school history.

No. 2 Oregona at Husky Invitational

No. 2 Oregon at Don Kirby Elite

EUGENE, Ore. -- The 4x400-meter relay team had a strong showing Saturday, as Oregon posted a plethora of top-10 NCAA performances at the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Don Kirby Elite in Albuquerque, N.M.

The women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Chizoba Okodogbe, Laura Roesler, Christian Brennan and Phyllis Francis won at the Don Kirby Elite in a school-record time of 3:30.08. Their time leads the NCAA so far this season.

Sasha Wallace made her collegiate debut in the triple jump and set the school record on her first legal attempt of her Oregon career. She saved her best mark for last, however, finishing with a distance of 42-5.5 (12.94m), putting her 11th in the NCAA. Wallace also tied her own school record while winning the top section of the 60 hurdles. The freshman crossed the line in 8.10, a time that is still fifth in the NCAA. It is Wallace’s second school record of the season, after setting the 60 hurdles record in her opener at the Washington Preview.

In Seattle, Megan Patrignelli ran with an elite field in the 3,000 and was the second collegian to cross the finish line. Her mark of 9:04.96 is second in Oregon history and ranks fifth in the nation this season.

No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Georgia at Texas A&M Invitational

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Aggies swept another pair of team titles in front of 1,512 fans at the eight team Texas A&M Invitational inside Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.

The Aggies totaled 156 points. Florida finished second as the Gators tallied 98.

Following in the women’s field were Clemson (89.5), Georgia (75), Texas State (52), Rice (49), Oklahoma (41.5) and Cal State Northridge (26).

The Aggies totaled seven victories on the day, as they claimed both titles in six events – 400, 800, 3000, 4x400, triple jump and weight throw.

Kamaria Brown reclaimed her world leading time in the 200 as she won in 22.80 seconds with teammate Ashton Purvis in second place with a 23.26. Florida finished 3-4-5 in the event with Kyra Jefferson leading the Gator trio with a 23.31. Then A&M added finishers in 7-8-9 with Janeil Bellille (23.87), Aaliyah Brown (24.06) and India Daniels (24.11). Brown also added a runner-up finish in the 60 at 7.34.

No. 6 Arkansas, No. 10 LSU at Tyson Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Razorbacks won the Tyson Invitational at Randal Tyson Track Center on Saturday in their final indoor home meet of the season.

The distance medley relay team of Keri McClary, Victoria Feole, Paige Johnston and Jessica Kamilos earned a second-place finish with a time of 11:20.20, the second-best time for the Razorbacks this season.

Diana Harper, Regine Williams, Chrishuna Williams and Brianna Swinton teamed up for the final event of the day, the 4x400 relay. The quartet finished in 3:34.70, recording the fastest time this season for the Razorbacks and a fifth-place finish.

Leigha Brown set a personal record on Saturday, clearing the 5-9.75 mark in her second attempt for a third-place finish. It was the freshman’s second PR of the weekend. On Friday, Brown recorded a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.93. Emilie Gray cleared the 5-5.75 mark for a fourth-place finish, while Alex Gouchenour came in fifth with a mark of 5-3.75.

Also in the field events, Tamara Myers won the triple jump with a mark of 42-8, her second-best mark of the season.

The women totaled 58.5 points during the weekend for a first-place finish against No. 1 Texas who finished second at the meet with 52 points. It marks the second time this season Arkansas has taken down the top-ranked Longhorns.

The Lady Tigers cracked the Top 10 of the NCAA rankings in the women’s 4x400 relay with their performance on Saturday night while slashing more than three seconds off their previous seasonal best while entering the meet with a top time of 3:38.22 set at the New Mexico Team Invitational on Feb. 1.