Walt Beazley

McLeod Races to SEC Runner of the Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – On the heels of his record-breaking performance at the 106th Drake Relays, Razorback sophomore Omar McLeod has been named the SEC Runner of the Week as announced Tuesday afternoon. McLeod was the co-recipient of the Maury White Award as the meet’s Most Outstanding Performer after winning three Drake Relays titles in the 110-meter hurdles and with his teammates in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays.

Making his outdoor-season debut at the annual event, McLeod set the Drake Relays record with his time 13.21 to win the event. His time also broke the Arkansas school record, established the NCAA season leader and is the No. 3 time in the world in 2015. With his individual performance, McLeod tied the fifth-fastest time and became the No. 7 all-time performer in collegiate history.

McLeod was also part of two first-place relay performances with teammates Kenzo Cotton, Jarrion Lawson and Marqueze Washington in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter events. In winning the 4×100-meter relay, the quartet recorded a season-best time of 39.78 which ranks sixth in the SEC and is 12th among the teams in the NCAA. McLeod shared the MOP accolades with defending Olympic gold medalist (400 meters) Kirani James.

The Razorbacks close out the regular season this weekend with the Arkansas Twilight and the Payton Jordan Invitational. Friday’s home meet begins at 11 a.m. (CT) with running events slated for a 6 p.m. start. For the second time this season, the distance crew will head west to compete Saturday at the Payton Jordan meet in Palo Alto, Calif.

The No. 12 Arkansas men are one of nine ranked SEC teams, all of which are positioned inside the top 20. The team takes on the loaded field at the SEC Outdoor Championships which is slated to be contested May 14-16 in Starkville, Miss., at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track. The Razorback men have won 18 SEC outdoor titles, most recently in 2013.

Contact the Razorback Ticket Center at 800-982-4647 or email raztk@uark.edu to purchase tickets for home events. For more information about Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.