Arkansas Announces 2018 Slate

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas women’s track and field team will resume their pursuit of more Southeastern Conference and NCAA hardware in January 2018, kicking off its season which will feature eight home meets in the ’Track Capital of the World’.

“Our home schedule is always incredibly competitive,” head coach Lance Harter said. “It all starts here in Fayetteville and then we gradually spice up our schedule with quality meets across the United States.”

Indoor At A Glance
Appreciative of having one of the finest indoor track facilities in the country the Razorbacks plan to once again maximize their time at home, opting to host four meets in Fayetteville and spend minimal time on the road.

Arkansas’ 2018 season will begin at the Randal Tyson Track Center with the Arkansas Opener Friday, Jan. 12. A relatively low key meet, the Arkansas Opener still provides for great early season marks and times, proven at the 2017 edition where multi Taliyah Brooks set a long jump program record and middle distance duo Therese Haiss and Nikki Hiltz posted NCAA top-three times in the mile.

Harter’s squad will then travel to Ann, Arbor, Michigan, scheduled to take on the Wolverine Invitational Jan. 20, returning back to Tyson the next weekend as the hosts of the Razorback Invitational Jan. 26-27.

Razorback Invitational Power Five Teams (11):
SEC (6): Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
ACC (1): Florida State
Big 12 (3): Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State
PAC 12 (1): Southern California

Perpetually one of the most talent-ridden regular season indoor competitions the 2018 installment of the Razorback Invitational will be sure to shake up NCAA team and event standings. With a multitude of All-American star power under one roof the Razorback Invitational will surely be considered one of the marquee meets of January.

Arkansas will wrap up the indoor regular season following three-consecutive weekends of split competition including trips to the New York Armory and Texas Tech Invitational Feb. 2-3, Tyson Invitational and Husky Invitational Feb. 9-10 and Arkansas Qualifier and Notre Dame Invitational, Feb. 16 and 17, respectively.

“Each and every year we have found a formula that has worked well to ultimately prepare each and every individual for the SEC and eventually the NCAA Championships,” Harter said. “We start out relatively moderate in the competition level but quickly escalate to find top level competition on quality tracks across the country from coast-to-coast.”

The 2018 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships will be the first stop for the Hogs postseason push, slated for Feb. 24-25 in College Station, Texas. Arkansas will close out its indoor campaign back in College Station at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 9-10.

Outdoor At A Glance
The Razorbacks outdoor schedule will also feature four meets including a new addition in the National Relay Championships.

“It’s a whole new concept that I think has been well received nationally,” Harter said. “Sixteen of the best teams in the United States coming for a regular track meet on Friday and then two-hour relay only potentially televised event in the evening on Saturday.”

The National Relay Championships will be preceded by the Arkansas Spring Invitational March 23-24 and the John McDonnell Invitational April 13-14. The Razorbacks final home meet of 2018 will be the Arkansas Twilight Friday, May 4.

National Relay Championships
With 16 of the most-respected track and field programs from around the country journeying to Northwest Arkansas for the newly minted relays meet, the National Relay Championships is set to become the premier collegiate relay competition in the nation.

Modeled after the flourishing, biennial IAAF World Relays, the National Relay Championships aims to invoke a spirited rivalry among the most competitive and historical college programs in track and field in advance of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Power Five Teams (16):
SEC (4): Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee,
ACC (3): Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech
Big 10 (3): Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Big 12 (5): Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas
PAC 12 (1): Stanford

National Relay Championships Teams Success by the Numbers
• 116 NCAA Relay Titles
• At least one NCAA relay champion every year since 1994
• 2017 Men’s NCAA Finalists
o Indoor
 DMR: Virginia Tech (2nd), Oklahoma State (6th), Arkansas (7th), Stanford (12th)
 4-x-400: Florida (2nd), Arkansas (3rd), Texas (7th), Kansas (11th)
o Outdoor
 4-x-100: Texas (5th), Arkansas (7th)
 4-x-400: Arkansas (2nd), Florida (4th)
• 2017 Women’s NCAA Finalists
o Indoor
 DMR: Stanford (2nd), Michigan (5th), Kansas (7th), Arkansas (11th)
 4-x-400: Baylor (5th), Miami (7th), Florida (8th), Arkansas (11th)
o Outdoor
 4-x-100: Kentucky (1st), Florida (3rd), Arkansas (6th)
 4-x-400: Texas (5th), Florida (6th), Miami (7th)

Razorbacks on the Road
Harter’s Hogs will make their way to the West coast on several occasions during the outdoor season, competing at the Stanford Invitational March 30-31, a trio of additional California races (Azusa Invitational, Mt. SAC and Stanford Classic) April 29-21 and the Payton Jordan Invitational May 4.

In addition to the Razorbacks’ California takeover the state of Texas also makes a couple appearances on Arkansas’ schedule in the form of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays March 29-31 and the Michael Johnson Invitational April 29-21.

Outdoor championships season will begin with the SEC outdoor meet May 11-13 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Following the league bout Arkansas will journey to Sacramento, California for the NCAA West Preliminary Round before closing out its 2018 campaign in Eugene, Oregon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.