No. 3 Arkansas competes in New Mexico Collegiate Classic
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The first travel trip for Arkansas this season takes the No. 3 Razorbacks to the host site of the NCAA Indoor Championships as they compete in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic this Friday and Saturday.
Visiting the Albuquerque Convention Center, the host site for the national championships in March, are a crew of sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, and throwers among the Arkansas squad.
Teams in the meet include Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Long Beach State, Kansas State, Miami, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State, Texas Tech, UC Irvine, USC, UTEP, and Washington.
Coverage of the New Mexico Collegiate Classic will be available through a paid stream from FloTrack at the following link – https://www.flotrack.org/events/7949592-2023-new-mexico-collegiate-classic.
Results will be available at this link: http://www.liverunningresults.com/events/2023unmclassic/
Following the Razorback Invitational, Arkansas is currently ranked No. 3 in the national rating index provided by USTFCCCA. The Razorbacks still have a few athletes who haven’t made their debut yet this season.
Rankings among teams competing in Albuquerque this weekend include – No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 8 Texas, No. 12 Iowa, and No. 14 USC.
“We still have some guys who are competing for the first time this season coming up this weekend,” noted Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Buckman. “It’s good that we’re ranked third. Hopefully, we’ll have some good performances this weekend and go from there.
“It’s the final ranking at the end of the season that counts. We’re glad that we are getting some national recognition. It motivates our guys a little bit that we’re one of the better teams in the country.”
This meet offers an opportunity to get familiar with the venue prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
“Every track and runway are tweaked a little different,” said Bucknam. “Each one has a different feel to it. Some tracks are stiffer, some are bouncier, and runways for the jumps are the same way.
“So, it’s critically important that we don’t get dialed in just on our runway or track and then experience something different at the national championship. We planned a trip out here so they guys can see what type of starting blocks they’re using, what are the runways like, the high jump apron, and all those technical types of things.”
Arkansas alum Omar McLeod, who is back in Fayetteville training, makes his season debut in the 60m hurdlers along with the Razorback crew of Matthew Lewis-Banks, Phillip Lemonious, Tre’Bien Gilbert, and Ayden Owens-Delerme.
A trio of Razorbacks in the 200m include Lance Lang, Connor Washington, and James Benson II. Tristan LaVan, Brandon Battle, and Jeremy Farr race in the Invitational sections of the 400m. Leroy Russell III leads an Arkansas crew in the 800m as he is joined by Ricardo Banks and Ethan Carney.
All three Razorback shot putters – Ralford Mullings, Rojé Stona, and Jordan West – are scheduled to compete together in the same meet for the first time this season. They will compete in the third section of the shot put on Saturday in a field that includes Turner Washington of Arizona State, a finalist for the 2021 Bowerman.
The Arkansas multi-event group will also compete in earlier sections of the shot put.
Saturday’s field events will also include the triple jump and the debut of Razorback freshman Jaydon Hibbert, the 2022 World U20 Champion. He will be joined by teammates Carey McLeod and Ryan Brown along with Arkansas alum Clive Pullen.
Scheduled for Friday’s long jump are John Baker, Shakwon Coke, and Wayne Pinnock. In the high jump Kason O’Riley competes among a field that includes Oklahoma’s Vernon Turner.
