No. 4 Arkansas hosts strong field at Razorback Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE – A field of 13 teams, seven ranked in the top 25 nationally, are scheduled to compete in the Razorback Invitational on Friday and Saturday inside Randal Tyson Track Center.

“This is a big meet for us, one of our major meets,” stated Arkansas women’s head coach Chris Johnson. “A lot of teams are coming with quite a few SEC foes here. We’re looking to get some national qualifiers and have a solid meet. On Friday, the focus will be on the distance medley relay while on Saturday the 400m is going to be big for us.

“It’s going to be all encompassing this weekend with the 800m, mile, sprints and hurdles. This is a very important meet for us and it’s really the first big meet of the season for us. So, we’re looking to get a lot of things done.”

The first set of national rankings released this week based on data from the early stages of the indoor season include No. 4 Arkansas, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Georgia, No. 19 Texas, No. 22 Kentucky, and No. 24 Tennessee.

Additional teams entered in the Razorback Invitational include Florida, Iowa State, LSU, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, and Utah.

“Our kids are excited about it, they’re ready to go out and perform,” noted Johnson. “This is the first big one for us, so we want to stay within ourselves, but we’re going to out and compete really hard. This week is about seeing where you measure up, what are some things you need to improve upon, but we’re doing it a very high level.”

After producing the second fastest collegiate time at 600m with a 1:25.37 two weeks ago, Sanu Jallow-Lockhart races in the 800m Invitational at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. The field includes teammates Anna Podojil and Tiana LoStracco.

The current collegiate leading time this season is a 2:02.03 by BYU’s Meghan Hunter, just ahead of a 2:02.68 by Razorback Isabella Whittaker. Jallow-Lockhart has an indoor best of 2:01.77 that ranks No. 2 on the UA all-time list behind the 2:01.22 school record set by Shafiqua Maloney in 2021.

LoStracco’s indoor best of 2:04.22 ranks No. 10 on the UA all-time list. Podojil makes her debut at the distance after clocking 1:26.95 in the 600m, which ranks as the No. 7 performer and No. 9 performance on the collegiate all-time list.

Defending NCAA Indoor high jump champion Rachel Glenn, who equaled the collegiate record of 6-6.75 (2.00) with her victory, makes her season debut in a talented field of eight jumpers that includes teammate Sydney Billington and Arkansas alum Taliyah Brooks.

Georgia’s Elena Kulichenko and Charity Hufnagel, a Kentucky alum, are also in the high jump field. Kulichenko won the 2024 NCAA Outdoor title with a career best of 6-5.5 (1.97) and finished tied for seventh in the Paris Olympics. Hufnagel, a 2023 NCAA Outdoor champion, won the 2024 Olympic Trials.

Kaylyn Brown will race in the 400m for the first time this season after opening in the 200m two weeks ago. The field includes a trio of collegian sprinters from the 2024 Olympic Trials final with Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler and Razorback Isabella Whittaker.

Arkansas alums in the 400m field include Amber Anning, Rosey Effiong, and Paris Peoples. Notable professionals also include Olivia Baker, Anna Hall, Bailey Lear, and Nicole Yeargin.

Following her 15:23.41 effort over 5,000m in December, Paityn Noe races in the mile this weekend with Olivia Pielemeier and Mackenzie Rogers among the nine Razorbacks racing. Alums in the mile field include Shafiqua Maloney, Krissy Gear, and Logan Jolly.

The distance medley relay on at 7:25 p.m. on Friday will feature seven schools in the race. Oregon established the meet and facility record of 10:47.50 a year ago. Arkansas’ top time at the Tyson facility is its UA record of 10:49.14 set in 2023.

A field of 20 pole vaulters will include five Razorbacks. Rachel Homoly won the Arkansas Invitational two weeks ago. The field includes a pair of 14-foot vaulters this early indoor season in Sarah Schmitt of Tennessee (14-3.5 | 4.36) and Kentucky’s Payton Phillips (14-1.25 | 4.30).

Arkansas will have three entered in the long jump with Funminiyi Olajide, Nia Robinson, and Sanaria Butler. Robinson will double in the triple jump. Freshman Heidi Hudson will represent the Razorbacks in the pentathlon.

Brooks and Hall will also contest an Open version of the 60m hurdles along with UA alum Destiny Huven and pros Anna Cockrell, Dalilah Muhammad, Andrenette Knight, and Gianna Woodruff.

Gear is also scheduled to race in the 3,000m in the same section with Sydney Thorvaldson and Shelbi Houlihan.