Men's @RazorbackTF Ranked No. 3 In Preseason Rankings
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the fourth season in a row, the Arkansas men’s track and field program will begin the season ranked in the preseason top 3, as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ranked the Razorbacks No. 3 in its initial computer rankings that were released on Tuesday afternoon.
The national team rankings are compiled by mathematical formulae based on national descending order lists. The purpose and methodology of the rankings is to create an index that showcases the teams that have the best potential of achieving the top spots in the national team race. Rankings points do not equate with NCAA Championships team points. Preseason rankings will include marks from 2014, and the National Team Computer Rankings will continue to do so through the third regular-season edition.
On the men’s side, three SEC teams are ranked among the nation’s top-four programs, while six SEC teams are ranked in the top-13 nationally. Florida is the preseason No. 1 men’s team, the Razorbacks check in at the No. 3 position Arkansas is No. 3 and Texas A&M is No. 4. LSU checks in at No. 10, while Georgia is No. 11 and Alabama is No. 13. The Florida men won three consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships from 2010-2012 and Arkansas won the indoor national crown in 2013.
Arkansas, the 2013 national champion, is looking to reclaim its spot atop the Division I indoor track & field mountain. The Razorback recruiting class for this season was ranked seventh in the country by Track & Field News.
Head coach Chris Bucknam and his team took the SEC Championship last season, marking the third-consecutive indoor title for the program, and finished second at the 2014 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. The Razorbacks scored 54 points over the two-day national meet, just eight points behind Oregon and 18 points ahead of third-place Florida.
The Razorbacks earned 19 All-American honors last season, highlighted by a pair of national champions in Jarrion Lawson (long jump) and Omar McLeod (60-meter hurdles). Lawson’s NCAA-leading jump of 27-6.5 took down his previous personal record of 26-2.75 (set at the 2014 Tyson Invitational). With his mark, Lawson ranks No. 4 all-time in NCAA history and No. 7 in all-time U.S. history. Lawson’s jump just missed the NCAA Championship meet record of 8.48 set by the legendary Carl Lewis in 1981. He currently ranks No. 2 all-time in Arkansas history. McLeod recorded a top-finishing time of 7.58 in the 60-meter hurdles for the title in his first-ever NCAA Championship. McLeod’s time followed an NCAA-leading performance in the prelims (a school-best 7.57).
The Razorbacks open the season on Friday, January 9 when they host the Arkansas Invitational. Arkansas will then welcome Texas to the Randal Tyson Track Center for the Arkansas-Texas Dual (Jan. 16), marking mark the sixth dual for the two teams.
For the latest information on Arkansas men’s track and field, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Team Computer Rankings (Top 25)
1. Florida
2. Oregon
3. Arkansas
4. Texas A&M
5. Penn State
6. Nebraska
7. Stanford
8. Texas
9. Texas Tech
10. LSU
11. Georgia
12. Villanova
13. Alabama
14. Purdue
15. Wisconsin
16. Kennesaw State
17. Akron
18. Houston
19. Iowa State
20. Florida State
21. Kent State
22. Michigan State
23. UCLA
24. Ohio State
25. TCU
Fayetteville, the “Track Capital of the World”, will be at the center of the track and field universe on the weekend of March 13-14 as the Razorbacks will host the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center, the home of the “Fastest Indoor Track in the World”. Since the facility’s opening in 2000, Arkansas and the Randal Tyson Track Center have hosted the event 11 times, including nine straight seasons and 11 of the last 13 championships.
A two-day, all-session ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships is $40 for reserved seating and $30 for general admission adult ticket.
Season tickets and NCAA all-session passes are available online at HERE, by contacting the Razorback Athletics Ticket Center via phone at (800) 982-HOGS or in person at the Razorback Athletics Ticket Center, located just east of Baum Stadium at 1295 S. Razorback Rd. in Fayetteville.
