No. 1 Razorbacks favored to claim third consecutive SEC Outdoor title

BATON ROUGE – Arkansas enters the SEC Outdoor Championships as the No. 1 team in the nation, and the Razorbacks will have an abundance of talent on display as they contend for a third consecutive outdoor conference team championship and 22nd overall title.

“We’re coming off a really good indoor season, winning the SEC championship and that’s our goal moving forward into this weekend,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “No. 1 it’s to compete to win and make another run at an SEC title. No. 2 is to keep improving and executing better to prepare for the NCAA Championships.

“Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Tennessee are the main challengers. I couldn’t pinpoint one particular team right now. We’re just focusing on our guys. We have a mature group of athletes who know how to take care of business.”

Following the Razorbacks in the national rankings are No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Tennessee, and No. 6 LSU. In conference rankings, where team depth is factored, No. 1 Arkansas is followed by LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Florida and Alabama.

LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium will serve as host for the three-day SEC meet, starting Thursday and concluding on Sunday. Coverage of the SEC Championships will be available through SEC Network + on Thursday (noon & 5:30 p.m. CT), Friday (11:30 a.m. & 5 p.m.), and Saturday (2 p.m.). Saturday’s final session will air on SEC Network (5 p.m.).

Live results will be available here: https://live.deltatiming.com/meets/20380.

Four Razorbacks enter the meet as previous SEC Outdoor champions – Patrick Kiprop in the 5,000m, Wayne Pinnock (2022) and Carey McLeod (2021) in the long jump, along with Jordan West in the shot put.

In addition to winning the 5,000m last season, Kiprop added a runner-up finish in the 10,000m to earn high-point honors in the meet. Three different Razorbacks have claimed the 5,000m title over the past three SEC Outdoor meets – Gilbert Boit in 2019 and Amon Kemboi in 2021. Myles Richter returns as a bronze medalist in the 10,000m for Arkansas.

Rojé Stona, the conference leader in the discus, has surpassed the meet record distance of 213-9 (65.15) set by Kentucky’s Mike Buncic in 1985. Stona, the SEC Field Athlete of the Week three consecutive weeks, improved the Arkansas school record to 219-10 (67.02) at Bernie Moore Stadium during the LSU Invitational two weeks ago. That mark is equal No. 4 performer on the all-time collegiate list.

Joining Stona in the discus competition are teammates Ralford Mullings, who ranks second in the SEC with a 206-0 (62.79) and Jordan West. The discus is one of three events, the others being the 400m and hammer, in which Arkansas has yet to win in a SEC Outdoor meet.

West is the defending SEC Outdoor shot put champion, having won with a mark of 66-6.5 (20.28) while at Tennessee last season with LSU’s John Meyer runner-up at 66-2.25 (20.17). The last Razorback to win the SEC shot put title was Marcus Clavelle in 2000 with a mark of 63-11 (19.48).

Meyer currently leads the conference with a toss of 67-0 (20.42) while West follows with a 66-2.5 (20.18) and Stona is third best with a 65-10.5 (20.08).

Jaydon Hibbert, the collegiate leader in the triple jump, came within half an inch of the SEC meet record when he competed at Bernie Moore Stadium two weeks ago and produced a mark of 56-4 (17.17) off one attempt. The most recent Razorback to win the triple jump at SEC Outdoor was Clive Pullen in 2016.

Texas A&M’s Latario Collie set the SEC Outdoor triple jump meet record of 56-4.5 (17.18) with a wind-legal secondary mark in 2015. The SEC meet all-conditions best mark is 56-11.25 (17.35) by Florida’s Marquis Dendy from that same competition in 2015.

In the long jump, current Razorbacks Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod won the past two outdoor titles while at Tennessee with marks of 26-5 (8.05) and 27-4.25 (8.33). The last Razorback to win the conference long jump was Jarrion Lawson in 2016.

In the 110m hurdles, Phillip Lemonious and Tre’Bien Gilbert were silver and bronze medalists a year ago and the Razorbacks had four hurdlers score in the final with Matthew Lewis-Banks and Ayden Owens-Delerme placing fifth and sixth.

Owens-Delerme will contest the 400m hurdles this weekend and be in the relay pool for both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.

“Ayden will not do the decathlon at the NCAA Championships, and we will run him in the 400m hurdles at the SEC meet,” noted Bucknam. “From a long-term perspective moving forward, and with some little nagging injuries that keep recurring, we just feel like to put him in the best position to medal at the World Championships we felt that the wear-and-tear of two more decathlons would be a detriment.

“We just came to the conclusion what’s best for him long-term is to focus on the 400m hurdles and the relays at conference and nationals while giving him a break from the decathlon so he can go on to prepare for the World Championships.”

Competing in the SEC decathlon will be Daniel Spejcher, who earned a silver medal in 2022, while Noah Swaby placed fourth. They will be joined by Marcus Weaver, who has improved his career best score to 7,549 points this season after winning a pair of NCAA Division III decathlon titles the past two seasons.

National Rankings

  1. Arkansas, 2. Texas Tech, 3. Florida, 4. Alabama, 5. Tennessee, 6. LSU, 7. Clemson, 8. BYU, 9. Iowa, 10. Washington

SEC Rankings

  1. Arkansas, 2. LSU, 3. Tennessee, 4. Texas A&M, 5. Ole Miss, 6. Florida, 7. Alabama, 8. Kentucky, 9. Georgia, 10. Auburn

SEC Outdoor | Arkansas Entries

100 Lance Lang, Connor Washington
200 Lance Lang, Connor Washington
400 Chris Bailey, James Benson II
800 Leroy Russell III
1500 Elias Schreml, Ben Shearer
5,000 Patrick Kiprop, Jacob McLeod, Myles Richter, Elias Schreml, Ben Shearer, Jack Williams
10,000 Myles Richter
110H Tre’Bien Gilbert, Phillip Lemonious, Matthew Lewis-Banks, Brevin Sims
400H Ayden Owens-Delerme, Brevin Sims
Steeple Jacob McLeod, Jack Williams
4 x 100 Arkansas
4 x 400 Arkansas
HJ Tomas Ferrari
PV Yariel Soto Torrado
LJ Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod, John Baker, Ryan Brown, Shakwon Coke
TJ Jaydon Hibbert, Carey McLeod, John Baker, Ryan Brown, Shakwon Coke
SP Jordan West, Rojé Stona
DT Rojé Stona, Ralford Mullings, Jordan West
Dec Daniel Spejcher, Noah Swaby, Marcus Weaver