Lance Lang, Jaydon Hibbert highlight impressive additions to Razorbacks roster

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas men’s track and field has announced additional transfers who will join the Razorbacks for the 2022-23 season along with a talented high school jumper from Jamaica.

The impressive group of transfers includes Christopher Bailey (Tennessee), Tai Brown (Kentucky), Lance Lang (Kentucky), Tristan LaVan (Central Arkansas), Kason O’Riley (Oklahoma), Yariel Soto (Tennessee), and Austin Wallace (UW-Milwaukee).

Also joining the Arkansas program is 17-year-old Jaydon Hibbert of Kingston College High School in Jamaica, becoming the fifth current athlete from the tradition-rich program who will be on the Razorback squad this coming season.

The other Kingston College Razorbacks include Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod, Shakwon Coke, and Ralford Mullings.

Arkansas alums who competed at Kingston College include Olympians and World Championship competitors in Alain Bailey, Tarik Batchelor, Omar McLeod, and Clive Pullen. This talent-laden group boasts an Olympic gold medalist, World Championship gold medalist, a combined seven NCAA titles, 11 SEC titles, and 19 first-team All-America performances.

As a 16-year-old, Hibbert earned a silver medal in the triple jump at the 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. Hibbert won the triple jump and placed second in the long jump at 2021 NACAC U18. This season he swept the long and triple jump in the CARIFTA U20 meet.

Later this summer Hibbert will represent Jamaica at the 2022 World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.

This past season, Hibbert claimed the triple jump title at the Jamaica Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships with a winning mark of 54-8 (16.66), a championship record as well as the Jamaica U18 national record, which makes him the No. 5 performer on the world U18 all-time list.

In winning the long jump at Champs, Hibbert produced a career best mark of 25-10 (7.87).

During the CARIFTA Games this spring, Hibbert set the triple jump meet record with a 54-0 (16.46) effort that followed a wind-aided leap of 55-11.25 (17.05) with a +2.8 wind. A mark of 25-0 (7.62) claimed the long jump victory.

In the 2022 Jamaican Championships, Hibbert won the triple jump with a mark of 53-10.25 (16.41) to defeat Jordan Scott (53-5.75 | 16.30). Hibbert produced his winning effort in the first round into a -1.2 headwind. Scott won the 2019 NCAA Indoor title competing for Virginia.

A sprinter at Kentucky, Lang sports career best times of 6.61 (60m), 10.08 (100m), and 20.08 (200). He has scored six times at national championship meets, while earning a silver and bronze medal in the 4 x 400m relay. In SEC Championships, Lang has collected two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals.

Lang placed fifth in the 2022 NCAA Indoor 200m final and ran on the bronze medal 4 x 400m relay (3:04.64). During the SEC Indoor meet, Lang claimed 200m gold in 20.32, finished third in the 60 with a 6.60 after a 6.65 prelim, and was a bronze medalist in the 4 x 400m relay (3:04.04).

In the 2022 SEC Outdoor Championships, Lang ran second leg on the silver medal 4 x 400m relay, which set a school record of 2:59.93.

During the 2021 season, Lang finished fourth in the 100m (10.07w) and 200m (20.08), then ran second leg on the winning 4 x 400m relay (3:01.71). He produced his career best of 10.08 at the NCAA East Preliminary round and had a windy best of 20.06 in the 200m.

Bailey, a 400m sprinter with a career best of 45.25, was a member of the Tennessee 4 x 400m relay that earned a bronze medal at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships with a 3:04.10. Bailey supplied a 44.79 split as the second leg.

During the 2021 SEC Indoor meet, Bailey ran on the winning 4 x 400m relay (3:04.08) and third place distance medley (9:36.41). He split 44.66 as the second leg of the 4 x 400m, second fastest in the meet.

At the 2021 SEC Outdoor meet, Bailey finished seventh in the 400m final. He posted times of 45.51 in the prelims and 46.03 in the conference 400m final, then ran 45.81 and 45.69 in the NCAA East Preliminary rounds to advance to the NCAA Championships.

Bailey ran on 4 x 400m relays which placed fifth at both the 2022 SEC Indoors and NCAA Indoors. Bailey split 45.64 as second leg on a 3:05.89 performance at NCAAs. During the conference meet he split 44.68 as second leg on a 3:05.64 effort, which was the fastest split of the meet.

Brown competed in the hurdles at Kentucky, where he produced career best times of 13.50 in the 110m hurdles and 7.72 in the 60m hurdles.

At the 2021 NCAA Outdoor meet, Brown finished ninth in the 110m hurdles with a 13.89 after posting a 13.68 in the semifinal. During the NCAA East Preliminary round, Brown had wind-aided times of 13.47 (2.7) and 13.41 (2.2).

In the 2021 SEC Outdoor meet, Brown finished seventh in the final with a 13.57w. At the indoor conference meet in 2021, he placed sixth in the 60m hurdles with a 7.84 after a 7.83 in the prelims. Brown was also sixth in the 60m hurdles at the 2020 SEC Indoor, posting times of 7.81 and 7.90.

Brown placed fourth in the 2019 SEC Outdoor 110m hurdles (13.68) and finished 13^th in the NCAA semifinal (13.71).

Competing at the 2019 USATF U20 Championships, Brown claimed silver in 13.21 on the junior height hurdles, where he ranks No. 15 on the all-time world list. He also earned silver in the Pan American Junior Championships with a 13.36w.

A 400m sprinter at Central Arkansas with a career best of 46.21, LaVan won the ASUN Conference title in 46.77 and ran on the silver medal 4 x 400m relay. Indoors, LaVan claimed silver in the conference meet with a 47.46 and ran on the bronze medal 4 x 400m relay.

In 2021, competing in the Southland Conference, LaVan placed sixth in the 400m while the 4 x 400m relay finished fifth.

A high jumper at Oklahoma, O’Riley qualified for the 2022 NCAA Championships as a freshman. Cleared a career best of 7-2.25 (2.19) as the silver medalist at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Also made 7-2.25 indoors, placing fourth in Lubbock.

As a Texas prep from Marble Falls High School, O’Riley won the 2021 Nike Outdoor Nationals (7-0.25 | 2.14) as well as the UIL State 5A title (6-11.75 | 2.13), both of which were career best marks at the time.

Soto competed in the heptathlon and decathlon for the Volunteers. At the recent NCAA Championships in June, Soto placed 10^th in the decathlon with a score of 7,668 points. At the SEC Championships he claimed bronze in the decathlon with a 7,600 tally.

Soto scored a career best of 7,677 in 2022, placing third in the Tennessee Relays decathlon.

Indoors, Soto finished ninth in the NCAA heptathlon with a career best score of 5,832 points. He claimed bronze in the SEC heptathlon with a total of 5,760 points.

Wallace is a conference champion from UW-Milwaukee, where he produced career best scores of 7,355 in the decathlon and 5,557 in the heptathlon. Wallace set his decathlon best as runner up at Texas A&M this past April while his heptathlon best won the John Garland Invitational this past indoor season.

Competing in the 2022 Horizon League, Wallace defended his heptathlon title with a 4,977 tally while also placing third in the 60m hurdles (8.09). At the 2021 Horizon League outdoor meet, Wallace won the decathlon, placed fourth in the 110m hurdles and long jump, while also placing sixth in the pole vault.