No. 7 Arkansas Hosts Pre-NCAA Showdown

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 7 Arkansas men’s track and field team will preview the NCAA indoor championships this weekend at home, competing against nationally-ranked powers from around the country Jan. 26-27 at the Razorback Invitational.

The talent-loaded meet will see the Hogs face off against SEC foes No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss as well as out of conference competitors No. 13 Southern California, No. 23 Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

“If you want to see some SEC track, this is the weekend to come,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “We have a competitive team and this is going to be a competitive meet. Prime time on Saturday will be 1-4:30 p.m., right before the basketball game so we’d love to have our Razorback fans come by and catch some track and field before heading over to Bud Walton.”

Date/Time: Friday, Jan. 26, 6 p.m. | Saturday, Jan. 27, 1 p.m.
Venue: Randal Tyson Track Center
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Live Results | Performance Lists | SEC Network + | SEC Network

Events to Watch (Friday):

12:50 p.m. | Heptathlon
Featured Razorbacks: Gabe Moore (PR: 5,688 points*)
Two-time NJCAA combined-events champion (heptathlon and decathlon) Gabe Moore will open up in his signature event this weekend at the Razorback Invitational. The South Plains transfer earned a pair of NCAA All-America certificates last year for the Hogs, placing 12th in the heptathlon at the indoor national championships and 13th in the decathlon at the outdoor national championships. The event will also feature 2017 NCAA heptathlon bronze medalist Karl Saluri of Georgia.

5:45 p.m. | Long Jump
Featured Razorbacks: Harrison Schrage (PR: 7.63m/25-0 1/4*) and Laquan Nairn (PR: 7.80m/25-7*)
Currently ranked 14th in the NCAA, Bahamian native Laquan Nairn will lead Arkansas’ charge in the long jump. A former national champion in the junior college ranks, Nairn opened his first year as a Hog with two-consecutive top-two finishes in the horizontal jumps. 2017 NCAA outdoor All-American Harrison Schrage will join Nairn in competition, both set to share the runway with last year’s indoor national champion, KeAndre Bates of Florida and indoor national runner-up Will Williams of Texas A&M.

6:30 p.m. | 200 Meters
Featured Razorbacks: No. 5 Obi Igbokwe (PR: 20.78) and Kenzo Cotton (PR: 20.65*)
One of an elite group of eight sprinters to post a sub-21 second time in the 200 this season Obi Igbokwe will headline Friday’s final event for Arkansas. Arkansas’ top short sprinter Kenzo Cotton will open up in the event for the first time this season. Cotton currently holds the fourth-fastest time in NCAA  in the 60-meter dash this season, secured at the Arkansas Invitational. The 200 will also feature two top-10 nationally-ranked foes in Terrell Smith of Kansas State and Jaron Flournoy of LSU.

Events to Watch (Saturday):

1:02 p.m. | 400 Meters Invitational
Featured Razorbacks: No. 1 Obi Igbokwe (PR: 45.73*) and Rhayko Schwartz (PR: 21.00*)
Top Razorback quarter-miler Obi Igbokwe will take the track for the first time in 400, contesting the invitational section of the event on Saturday afternoon. An indoor and outdoor national qualifier last season, Igbokwe’s early speed work from this year could take him to new heights in the event. Igbokwe will be joined by Western Texas transfer Rhayko Schwartz who was a member of Arkansas’ outdoor national runner-up finishing 4-x-400 meter relay team last season. The Arkansas duo will line up against SEC rivals and 2017 NCAA indoor 400-meter finalists Kunle Fasasi of Florida and Mylik Kerley of Texas A&M.

1:20 p.m. | 60 Meters Prelims
Featured Razorbacks: No. 5 Kenzo Cotton (PR: 6.56*)
A two-time NCAA indoor finalist in the 60-meter dash Kenzo Cotton enters the Razorback Invitational as the top seed in a loaded field, which includes his brother Kurtis Cotton who runs for regional rival Oklahoma State.  Cotton’s top competition will come from Georgia’s Cejhae Greene who has a PR in the event of 6.66, which he secured at Clemson’s Orange and Purple Invitational earlier this season.

4:03 p.m. | 4-x-400 Meter Relay Invitational
The day will come to a close with the 4-x-400 meter relay Invitational which is set to feature five of the 12 NCAA indoor finalists from last years national championships including: No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 LSU and No. 9 Southern California.

Promotions

  • Arkansas track and field alumni weekend: Complimentary admission plus one free official Pepsi sponsored ‘Track Capital of the World’ alumni t-shirt.
  • Throwback ‘Track Capital of the World’ T-Shirt giveaways.
  • ‘Track Capital of the World’ Baton giveaways.
  • Razorback kids fun-run 60-meter dash.

Season tickets are available online, contacting the Razorback Athletics Ticket Center at 800-982-HOGS, or visiting in person. The Ticket Center is located just east of Baum Stadium at 1295 S. Razorback Road in Fayetteville.

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.