State sports briefs

FOOTBALL

ASU great Cissell, 80, dies

Howard Cissell, who earned one All-American honor while a running back for Arkansas State in the 1950s before playing professionally in Canada, died on Sunday. He was 80.

Cissell led ASU in receiving in 1955 and 1957 and in touchdowns in 1955. He was named a Williamson All-American in 1957, was inducted into the ASU Hall of Honor in 1993 and was named to its all-centennial football team in 2014.

Cissell played three seasons for the Montreal Alouettes, with his most successful season coming in 1960 when he caught 19 passes for 244 yards.

He later went into coaching, a career that ended in 1981 at the University of Iowa.

-- Troy Schulte

TRACK AND FIELD

UALR's Charles breaks records

UALR's Anika Charles broke two school records Tuesday and scored 16 points for the Trojans, who finished in 10th place at the Sun Belt Indoor Championship in Birmingham, Ala.

Charles' time of 53.92 seconds in the 400-meter dash beat the previous record of 54.32 seconds, held by Olympian Dawn Williams. She finished second in the race, scoring eight team points. Charles also took second place in the 200, breaking her own record with a time of 23.97 seconds, making her the first runner in school history to post a time under 24 seconds in the race.

The UALR men finished in eighth place after scoring 25 points. Imad Amenzou finished fourth in the 800 with a time of 1:53.78, which moved him to fifth all-time in program history. The Trojans also got five points from the 1600 relay team, which finished fourth with a time of 3:16.87.

Arkansas State finished fourth as a team on the men's side and fifth on the women's side. The Red Wolves added three individual champions with Jamil Peeples winning the 60 hurdles (7.95 seconds), Tiaan Steenkamp winning the men's high jump (7 feet, 1½ inches) and Erin Farmer's victory in the women's shot put (55 feet, 2 inches).

Cabot's Weeks earns SEC, national honors

Arkansas sophomore Lexi Weeks was named the SEC's field athlete of the week Tuesday, on top of being named the national athlete of the week, after last weekend's performance at the Arkansas Qualifier.

Weeks cleared 15 feet, 1 inch Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, marking her fourth indoor clearance of 15 feet or better. She is the 10th-best pole vaulter in the world and the only collegian with a 15-foot clearance in 2017.

LeGassey tabbed by SEC

Three-time All-American high jumper Ken LeGassey was named the SEC men's field athlete of the week Tuesday after beating his previous indoor record at the Arkansas Qualifier.

LeGassey moved to No. 2 in the SEC and No. 3 in the country after clearing 7 feet, 31/4 inches, which beat his previous mark by three centimeters. The clearance is the eighth-best ever by a Razorbacks high jumper.

Sports on 02/22/2017

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