Hayward Premiere opens outdoor campaign for Razorbacks

EUGENE, Ore. – Arkansas begins its outdoor season this weekend competing in the Hayward Premiere on Friday and Saturday as the University of Oregon hosts its initial meet in a remodeled Hayward Field, which will serve as the host site for the NCAA Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.

“We wanted to get out here because the Trials are here and NCAA Championships,” noted Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “So, we thought as soon as we could we would like to get out there, not only to have some good competition, but get into the facility and get on the runways, get over the hurdles and the throwing circles.

“We think it’s going to be a real positive experience and it will be good for our team to check things out and get a visual before we go back out there in June.”

Schools joining the Razorbacks in the Hayward Premiere include Boise State, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, New Mexico, Oregon, Portland, Portland State, Southern Utah, Tulsa, Washington State, Weber State, and Wichita State.

Field events begin at 3 p.m. (PT) on Friday with running events, which include distances from 1,500 to the 10,000 start at 5:20 p.m. On Saturday, field events begin at noon with running events starting a 1:05 p.m.

A free live stream is available through RunnerSpace while live results will be available through AthleticLive.

The Razorbacks will have a full squad competing, which includes a few individuals joining the crew who didn’t have indoor eligibility. It marks the first time the bulk of the team has traveled together in over a year.

Arkansas was the epicenter for collegiate meets during the indoor season, hosting seven meets including SEC and NCAA Championships.

“This is an important weekend for us,” stated Bucknam. “It’s almost a perfect weekend for us since it’s early and won’t be too crowded in terms of teams in Eugene. The meet is a decent size and looks to be setup really good.

“The other thing that is really important is that this is the first time this season we get to travel as a team. We haven’t done that yet, since every meet indoors was at home. We lucked out and it was a great setup. But you lose a little from that team building standpoint.

“It’s going to be good to get our team away from campus, get together, get on the road, and get to a great facility, one of the best in the world. It will give us a chance to bond as a team. You don’t get to do that when you’re home every weekend.”

Invitational races this weekend will include Kieran Taylor in the 800, Amon Kemboi in the 1,500, Luke Meade in the 5,000 as well as a crew of Gilbert Boit, Emmanuel Cheboson, Jacob McLeod, Ryan Murphy, Myles Richter, and Matt Young in the 10,000.

Part of the returning group of Razorbacks, who will compete in various events this weekend, includes Travean Caldwell and Nick Hilson in the 400m hurdles, long jumper LaQuan Nairn, and decathlete Tyler Brendel.