Lance Lang advances to pair of NCAA Championship sprint finals
EUGENE – The first day of competition for Arkansas at Hayward Field in the NCAA Championships produced five points from two finals while Lance Lang claimed the final time qualifier for both the 100m and 200m finals on Friday.
Wayne Pinnock finished fifth in the long jump to pick up four points while Patrick Kiprop placed eighth in the 10,000m for an additional point.
Through six of 21 finals, USC leads with 19 points and are followed by Georgia (13), California (12.5), Kansas (12) and Ole Miss (12). The five points for the Razorbacks currently have them in a tie for 22nd.
In addition to Lang advancing to the final of the 100m and 200m, the Arkansas 4 x 400m relay produced the second fastest qualifying time with a 3:01.56 behind a 3:01.17 by Texas A&M from the same heat.
Through the first day of the decathlon, Jack Turner (4,116) and Yariel Soto Torrado (4,090) are currently in fifth and sixth place.
Turner’s score came from performances that included 10.78 (100m | 910), 24-2.25 [7.37] (long jump | 903), 42-9.5 [13.04] (shot put | 670), 6-2.25 [1.89] (high jump | 705), and 47.62 (400m | 928).
Soto Torrado produced his tally from 10.80 (100m | 906), 23-8 [7.21] (long jump | 864), 44-1.5 [13.45] (shot put | 695), 6-3.5 [1.92] (high jump | 731), and 48.32 (400m | 894).
Pinnock, the 2022 NCAA Outdoor champion and a runner-up in 2023, produced a mark of 26-2.25 (7.98) in finishing fifth. USC’s JC Stevenson won the competition with a leap of 26-11.75 (8.22), while second through fourth place were separated by an inch and a half.
Florida State’s Jeremiah Davis finished as runner-up with a 26-5.75 (8.07) effort while bronze went to Malcolm Clemons of Florida with a 26-5 (8.05). In fourth place, at 26-4.25 (8.03), was Johnny Brackins of USC.
Kiprop and Kirami Yego, who led various stages of the 10,000m final, posted times of 28:13.99 and 28:17.53 in finishing eighth and 10th. Yego, who led the field at 5,000m, produced a career best time that ranks No. 7 on the UA all-time list.
Challenging for the lead late in the race, Kiprop fell. Over the next couple of laps he recovered and moved back to the pack, producing a season best time as he scored a point for the Razorbacks.
The Arkansas 4 x 400m crew consisted of TJ Tomlyanovich (46.06), James Benson II (44.36), Connor Washington (45.89), and Steven McElroy (45.25). Only Florida’s third leg Jenoah McKiver (44.30) and USC’s anchor leg Johnnie Blockburger (44.31) produced faster splits than Benson.
Joining Texas A&M and Arkansas in the final will be Florida (3:01.78), Alabama (3:01.88), USC (3:02.29), LSU (3:02.95), Texas (3:03.51), Tennessee (3:04.28), and Arizona State (3:04.48).
Lang posted times of 10.22 and 20.31 in placing third in both semifinal heats and claiming the final time qualifier for the nine-person finals in each event.
In the 100m, it marked the third consecutive race for Lang to compete against a pair of sprinters from Houston. They’ll have a fourth race on Friday as Louie Hinchliffe claimed the semifinal heat in 10.09 with Cougar teammate Shaun Maswanganyi runner-up in 10.14.
In the 400m, Benson and Tomlyanovich raced in the same semifinal heat. Benson finished fourth in 45.79 while Tomlyanovich placed seventh in 46.33. Benson was 11th overall as 45.59 served as the final time qualifier for the final.
NCAA defending champion Phillip Lemonious placed eighth in his semifinal heat of the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.78. Meanwhile, a false start prevented Elijah Morris from racing in the following heat.
