U.S. OLYMPIC TRACK & FIELD TRIALS

Razorbacks spread across track trials

Former Arkansas Razorback Taliyah Brooks, shown competing at a German indoor meet in January, will compete in the heptathlon and the 100-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which begin today in Eugene, Ore.
(AP/Martin Meissner)
Former Arkansas Razorback Taliyah Brooks, shown competing at a German indoor meet in January, will compete in the heptathlon and the 100-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which begin today in Eugene, Ore. (AP/Martin Meissner)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The entry sheets are chockfull of Arkansas Razorbacks past and present for the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, which start today at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Ore.

The University of Arkansas will be represented by 19 athletes -- 12 on the women's side and seven men -- in an effort to make the U.S. team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games, starting July 23.

The athletes with Razorback connections given the best shots at qualifying for the team are former pole vaulter Sandi Morris, former long jumper Jarrion Lawson and former heptathlete Taliyah Brooks, who is also competing in the 100-meter hurdles.

Track & Field News projected second-place finishes for Lawson and Morris, and a third-place showing for Brooks in the heptathlon.

"I'm confident in myself and I'm confident in the training I've put in this past year, and I have full expectations to make the team in the [heptathlon]," Brooks said on a video conference Wednesday. "It's been a long year trying to get through quarantine and then for myself with injuries before that. It's been a long three years, and I'm glad it's finally here. I'm happy doing my two events."

Brooks, who has been visible at Razorback athletic events in recent years as an on-court emcee for the marketing department, twisted a knee at an event in Europe just three weeks ago, but she said she is feeling fit.

"I think this is the fittest I've ever been in my life," she said. "Like scans all look good, body fat is low. Workouts are going great. Between sprints and I run the 800, so my 800 workouts have been going very good."

The heptathlon starts June 26, but Brooks and former teammate Payton Chadwick will get going on the 100 hurdles in first-round heats Saturday.

"Anybody can go out there and have a great day or a bad day," said Chadwick, who said she's rounding into shape after an injury during the indoor season. "I'm hoping to put everything together when it really counts."

The action for the Razorbacks starts today, with alumnus Erich Sullins in hammer throw qualifying at 2:05 p.m.

Current Razorback junior Krissy Gear and former Razorback Nikki Hiltz will be running in the same opening heat of the 1,500, which begins at 6:03 p.m. Gear also qualified in the 3 kilometer steeplechase, which will start Sunday.

Current sixth-year senior Katie Izzo and former Razorback Taylor Werner are in the first round of the 5,000 at 7:54 p.m. today.

The opening night for Arkansas performers wraps up at 8:37 p.m. with current senior Jada Baylark and former Razorback Kiara Parker running the 100. Baylark, from Little Rock Parkview, is in lane 2 in heat No. 1, while Parker has drawn lane 5 in heat No. 3.

"I feel really good," said Baylark, who added she plans to return for her final season of eligibility next year. "I felt like my season started coming together at SECs and regionals, so hopefully that will keep going into the trials."

Parker, now running for ASICS, said she's feeling about 90% healthy, which is about normal for this time of year, but she's also extremely confident.

"I feel like I'm going in the right direction, and I feel like something great could happen here," Parker said. "Honestly, in my opinion, I shouldn't be as confident as I am right now to make the team, but I'm like very confident in myself that I can make it happen in some sort of way."

Current Razorback junior Markus Ballengee will start the decathlon at 3 p.m. on Saturday. By the end of the day, he'll have competed in the 100, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400. The other five events will take place on Sunday, starting with the 110 hurdles at 2:15 p.m.

Ballengee just competed at the NCAA nationals at Hayward Field a week and a half ago, so he stayed in Oregon to continue training.

"I mean, I wish the decathlon was put at the end of the meet, but I'm not in charge, so I just have to roll with the punches," Ballengee said. "I feel pretty good though. I've just been focusing on recovery pretty much the past few days, as soon as the meet ended at nationals, so I feel ready to go.

"For me it's kind of been a blessing in disguise. I don't know, I just feel more ready because I already competed at this track a few weeks ago where most of these guys haven't gotten a chance to compete at this track. It'll be their first time here."

Current Razorback senior Carl Elliott III and sophomore Tre'Bien Gilbert will open their trials experience June 25 with the first round of the 110 hurdles.

"I'd say I'm pretty ready," Elliott said. "Practice has been great and we've been doing really good. My body feels great. And like Markus said, I mean we've run at this track several times."

The other current Razorback women who qualified for the trials are Nastassja Campbell and Lauren Martinez in the pole vault, and Taylor Ewert in the 20-kilometer walk.

The women's pole vault qualifying is on Thursday at 7 p.m., and the finals will be held two days later. Ewert's 20-kilometer event, in which she is among the favorites, is June 26 at 11:01 a.m.

On the men's side, Nicholas Hilson will compete in the 400 hurdles, with heats starting Thursday.

Other former Razorbacks at the trials are pole vaulter Andrew Irwin, and Nikki Hiltz in the women's 800 and 1,500.

Sandi Morris, of the United States smiles after her silver in the women's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Sandi Morris, of the United States smiles after her silver in the women's pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' Jarrion Lawson competes in a qualifying round of the men's long jump during the athletics competitions of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
United States' Jarrion Lawson competes in a qualifying round of the men's long jump during the athletics competitions of the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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