Alabama, Arkansas win SEC Indoor Track and Field titles
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS -- The No. 8-ranked Alabama men's track and field team and the No. 2-ranked Arkansas women's track and field team claimed the 2018 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships here Sunday at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
The SEC Indoor Championship is the fourth all-time for the Alabama men and the first since 1972. The Crimson Tide scored 90 total team points to take home the title, while Arkansas was second with 88 and Florida was third with 83.5. Texas A&M (75.5) was fourth, followed by Georgia (71), Kentucky (45), Tennessee (43), Auburn (37), South Carolina (34) and Ole Miss (34), LSU (25), Mississippi State (21) and Missouri (13).
The Arkansas women won their eighth all-time SEC Indoor Championship and fourth in a row by scoring 106.5 total team points. Georgia was second with 84.5, and Kentucky was third with 74. LSU (63) was fourth, followed by Texas A&M (62), Florida (61), Ole Miss (42), Alabama (37), Missouri (35.5), Mississippi State (31), Tennessee (21), South Carolina (17), Auburn (16) and Vanderbilt (11)
Arkansas' Kenzo Cotton won the men's Cliff Harper Trophy, awarded to the high-points scorer at the SEC Indoor Championship, with 18 points. There was a four-way tie for the women's Cliff Harper Trophy. Georgia's Lynna Irby, LSU's Mikiak Brisco, Ole Miss' Janeah Stewart and Keturah Orji each scored 18 points.
Champions crowned
Individual men's champions crowned Sunday include Florida's Grant Holloway in the 60mH (7.53), Arkansas' Kenzo Cotton in the 60m dash (6.59), Ole Miss' Sean Tobin in the mile (4:07.14), Auburn's Akeem Bloomfield in the 400m dash (45.22), Kentucky's Jacob Thomson in the 5000m (13:49.50), Texas A&M's Devin Dixon in the 800m (1:49.32), Tennessee's Mustaqeem Williams in the 200m dash (20.55), Texas A&M's Jacob Wooten in the pole vault (5.28m/17-3¾), Florida's Clayton Brown in the triple jump (16.08m/52-9¼) and South Carolina's Josh Awotunde in the shot put (21.33m/69-11¾). Arkansas (9:37.01) won the distance medley relay, while Texas A&M (3:02.35) won the 4x400 meter relay.
Georgia claimed the men's heptathlon for the sixth year in a row as freshman Johannes Erm claimed the title with 5,716 points.
Individual women's champions crowned Sunday include Kentucky's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn in the 60mH (7.98), LSU's Mikiah Brisco in the 60m dash (7.10), Arkansas' Nikki Hiltz in the mile (4:34.37), Kentucky's Sydney McLaughlin in the 400m (50.52), Texas A&M's Sammy Watson in the 800m run (2:04.25), Georgia's Lynna Irby in the 200m (22.66), Missouri's Megan Cunningham in the 5000m run (15:56.76), Ole Miss' Janeah Stewart in the weight throw (23.06m/75-8), Georgia Keturah Orji in the triple jump (14.18m/46-6¼) and Mississippi State's Logan Boss in the high jump (1.91m/6-3¼). Missouri (11:08.18) won the distance medley relay, while LSU won the 4x400 meter relay (3:30.85).
Records set
McLaughlin's 50.52 in the women's 400m dash broke the SEC Championship record that was previously held by Texas A&M's Kamaria Brown set in 2014 (50.94), and Boss set a new mark with a 1.91m/6-3¼ in the high jump, beating the previous record of 1.90m/6-2¾ set twice by Georgia's Leontia Kallenou.
On the men's side, Awotunde's mark of 21.33m/69-11¾ in the shot put broke the previous record of 20.41m/66-11½ set by Florida's Stipe Zunic in 2015. The Texas A&M men set a record in the 4x400 meter relay (3:02.35).