Kemboi, Brown pick up points on first day of NCAA Indoor
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Arkansas totaled three points from first day final at the NCAA Indoor Championships, getting a pair of points from Amon Kemboi in the 5,000m and a single point from Ryan Brown in the long jump on Friday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Action continues Saturday with Arkansas involved in the 3,000m and 4×400 relay along with the remainder of the heptathlon.
Kemboi, seeded 16th in the 5,000m, bettered over half the field to claim seventh place in 13:29.04 and collect a pair of points. He will race in the 3,000m on Saturday.
Brown had a best of 24-5.5 (7.45) in the second round of the long jump and that mark held on for eight place by just a pair of inches for a Razorback point. John Baker finished 14th in the competition.
The other men’s final held on Friday included the distance medley relay, where the Razorback placed ninth in 9:30.86, just off the last scoring position occupied by Michigan in 9:30.46. Texas claimed the event in a facility record of 9:25.20 over Notre Dame (9:25.77) and Wisconsin (9:25.78).
Running in the distance medley for Arkansas were Andrew Kibet (2:55.40), Brandon Battle (46.13), Leroy Russell (1:49.25), and Elias Schreml (3:59.81). Battle produced the second fastest split on the shortest leg of the relay, trailing a 45.96 by Willington Wright of Texas.
In the first day of the heptathlon, Ayden Owens is currently in fifth place with 3,340 points while Daniel Spejcher is 12th with 3,149 points. Georgia’s Kyle Garland is leading the heptathlon after four events with a score of 3,592 points, which is 30 points ahead of Leo Neugebauer of Texas (3,562).
Owens, who had a first day score of 3,476 when he set the UA school record of 6,272, opened with a 6.89 in the 60m (922 points), then had a 23-6.75 (7.18) long jump (857). In the shot put he reached a mark of 48-11.75 (14.93) to score 785 points. A high jump of 6-5.5 (1.87) for 776 points closed out the first day.
Qualifying for Saturday finals did not go as well as Arkansas was hoping with a pair of Razorbacks just missing advancing to the final of their respective events.
Kieran Taylor clocked 1:48.09 in the 800m, placing fifth in the first section and ninth overall. The last time qualifier was 1:48.00. James Benson II finished third in a prelim heat of the 400m and his 46.65 placed 10th overall, with 46.57 the last time qualifier to the final.
In the 60m hurdles a 7.83 for Phillip Lemonious placed him seventh in the prelim heat and 14th overall.
