Arkansas among impressive field at Florida Invitational
GAINESVILLE – An impressive field of teams await the Razorbacks as they compete in the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational hosted by the University of Florida this Friday and Saturday, April 12-13.
With the Gators hosting the SEC Outdoor Championships in May, a dozen conference teams will be represented at James G. Pressly Stadium and Percy Beard Track this weekend. Coverage of the meet will be available through SEC Network +.
“It’s a great meet, and it’s a big meet,” noted Arkansas men’s associate head coach Doug Case. “All the top teams will be there. We’ll get there and do what we have to do.
“We get to see the track and get kids on the track who haven’t been there so we can feel it out for the SEC meet. Overall, this meet is all about getting regional marks to get our kids qualified for the NCAA West regional.”
SEC schools joining Florida and the Razorbacks this weekend include Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.
Additional teams include Clemson, Florida State, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Purdue, TCU, and Texas Tech.
“This might be like a SEC pre-meet with most of the conference schools there,” Case said. “It’s just a great track meet. A bunch of pros will be there as well. If we get any type of good weather we’re going to have some really good performances.”
A number of events will have three distinctions at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational with Invite and Olympic Development signifying an elite college division and professional level.
Last week a majority of the Razorbacks opened the outdoor campaign with a home meet at John McDonnell Field in which windy conditions negated the marks being eligible for the NCAA West meet.
“Any time you get to compete you have a gain from it,” noted Case. “Just getting out there, putting spikes on, and going 100 percent. That helps you progress through the following weeks. Everything we do is in preparation for the SEC and NCAA Championships.
“All these steps we take throughout the year gets us ready for those big meets.”
Razorbacks entered in the Invitational sections:
200 | Lance Lang, Connor Washington, Tevijon Williams
400 | Brandon Battle, James Benson II, Steven McElroy, TJ Tomlyanovich,
110H | Tai Brown, Elijah Morris, William Spencer, Jr.
400H | William Spencer, Jr.
High Jump | Andrew Hughes, Kason O’Riley
Pole Vault | John Kendricks
Triple Jump | Apalos Edwards
Arkansas alums competing in the meet include Chris Bailey (400m) and LaQuan Nairn (long jump). Athletes training in Fayetteville schedule to compete include Jamal Britt (200m, 110m hurdles) and Khalifa Rosser (400m).
Azusa Pacific | Bryan Clay Invitational
A crew of distance runners return to California for the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific from Thursday to Saturday.
The Razorback group includes Jack Williams (steeplechase) and Myles Richter (10,000m) racing on Thursday. The 5,000m on Friday includes Patrick Kiprop, Jacob McLeod, Tommy Romanow, Ben Shearer, Josh Shearer, and Kirami Yego. On Saturday, Elias Schreml races in the 1,500m.
