State sports briefs

SWIMMING AND DIVING

Palsja, Macias pace Arkansas Freshman Peyton Palsha and sophomore Ayumi Macias advanced to the A-final and B-final, respectively, in the 500 freestyle at the SEC championships Thursday in College Station, Texas.

Palsha swam a personal-best 4:43.05, the sixth-fastest time in prelims, to qualify for the A-final. In her SEC championship debut, Palsha touched eighth in the A-final in a time of 4:43.69.

Macias clocked the 10th-fastest preliminary time with a then-season-best 4:43.86, to claim her place in the B-final. After finishing seventh overall in the event as a freshman, Macias turned in a 12th-place showing this season, touching fourth in the B-final in a season-best 4:43.32.

2 school records fall for UALR Two school records fell for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Thursday in the second day of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship as the Trojans moved up to fifth place with 144 points after day two.

Senior Tori Fryar finished third in the A-final of the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:54.33, breaking her previous school record of 4:54.47. Sophomore Rachel Maradyn finished 22nd overall with a time of 5:07.20.

In the 200 freestyle relay, the team of Imre van Huyssteen, Courtney Goff, Emma Doll and Laura Ruiz Astorga recorded a time of 1:34.32, breaking the record of 1:34.52 set last year.

Astorga fell just short of breaking another record after finishing just .21 seconds behind the 200-yard individual record with a time of 2:06.41 and taking 11th overall.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Harding handles Ouachita Harding University (13-13, 9-9 Great American Conference) forced 27 Ouachita Baptist University (12-12, 8-10) turnovers and limited the Lady Tigers to 33 percent shooting in a 75-41 victory Thursday at Vining Arena in Arkadelphia.

Harding is now fourth in the league race. Kellie Lampo led Harding with 16 points. Falan Miller added 14, and Carissa Caples had 13. Chasidee Owens paced OBU with 10 points and eight rebounds.

In other women’s GAC games Thursday, Taylor Collins and Mackenzie Johnson each had 19 points in the University of Arkansas-Monticello’s (7-16, 3-15) 80-65 loss to Henderson State University (18-6, 14-4) in Arkadelphia. … Lyrik Williams scored a team-high 20 points, and Cheyenne North picked up her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds as Arkansas Tech University (19-3, 15-3) defeated Southern Arkansas University (8-16, 7-11) 87-62 in Magnolia.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Jones leads Boll Weevils Tyrin Jones scored 29 points and Karim Mawuenyega added 22 as the University of Arkansas-Monticello (15-9, 10-8) topped Henderson State University (12-12, 7-11) 91-84 in overtime Thursday in Monticello. Matt Panaggio led the Reddies (12-12, 7-11) with 17 points and 5 rebounds.

In other men’s GAC games Thursday, R.J. Glasper scored 21 points for his 11th 20-point performance this season as Arkansas Tech University (15-9, 9-9) fell 90-80 to Southern Arkansas University (13-11, 9-9) in Magnolia. … Matt Stanley scored 17 points to lead Ouachita Baptist University to a 91-67 victory over Harding University in Arkadelphia. Zac Ward had 19 points for OBU (10-13, 8-10).

TRACK AND FIELD

UAPB’s Garner athlete of week Wade Garner of the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference men’s track athlete of the week Thursday. Garner, a sophomore, won the 800 meters at Pittsburg State’s third-annual Indoor Gorilla Classic, clocking in at 1:50.68.

Garner was just six-tenths of a second off his personal best in the event, and it marks his fourth top-two result in individual events this season.