Randal Tyson - The Fastest Track in the World 20-Years Running

Jeff Smith March 4, 2019

Randal Tyson Track Center All-Time Best List

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In its 20th-season as the home of the Arkansas Razorbacks Track and Field programs, the Randal Tyson Track Center home to the ‘Fastest Track in the World’ produced the most NCAA qualifying marks of any track in the country during the 2019 indoor season. Over 20% of athletes competing at the NCAA Indoor Championship this week in Birmingham, Ala. will have qualified with a mark achieved at the Randal Tyson Center. The University of Arkansas was also the ONLY program in the country with two meets on television (Razorback Invtl., SEC Championships) – one of two facilities with a LIVE TV broadcast.

Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center, first opened on the University of Arkansas campus in 2000 with a specially designed track, originally built by Mondo for the World Championships in Toronto, Canada. The track itself is a 200-meter, 60-degree banked track that has 60-meter straightaways running the entire length of the facility. It also includes men’s and women’s jumping runways and pits. The surface of the track is red and gray Mondo and the Razorbacks’ home indoor track was resurfaced prior to the start of the 2011 track and field season. Since opening, the Razorbacks’ $8 million home facility has played host to numerous world-class indoor meets, including nine SEC Championships —most recently, the 2019 indoor conference meet— and 12 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The nine SEC Indoor meets is the most in conference history as a host.

The SEC Championships at Arkansas was by far best meet of the collegiate season. While the Razorback Invtl. and Tyson Invtl. finished second and third when you remove conference championships. The Randal Tyson Track Center is the only track in the country with three meets in the top-10.

Meets around the country produced the most end of season top-25 performances.

83 – SEC Indoor Championships – Arkansas
46 -Big 12 Championships – Texas Tech
39 – Big Ten Indoor Championships – Michigan
38 – 2019 MPSF Indoor Championships – Washington
35 – 2019 Husky Classic – Washington
33 – Razorback Invitational – Arkansas
32 – Tyson Invitational – Arkansas
30 – ACC Indoor Championships – Virginia Tech
25 – Texas Tech Classic – Texas Tech
24 – Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational – Clemson

Facilities around the country produced the most NCAA-Qualifying marks.

107 Arkansas‐Randall Tyson Track ‐ Fayetteville, AR | 200m (Banked)
75 Texas Tech‐Sports Performance Center ‐ Lubbock, TX | 200m (Banked) | 3217 ft. elevation
64 Washington‐Dempsey Indoor ‐ Seattle, WA | 307m (Flat)
23 Michigan‐Indoor Track Center (Banked) ‐ Ann Arbor, MI | 200m (Banked)
23 Clemson‐Indoor Track (Banked) ‐ Clemson, SC | 200m (Banked)
21 Boston University‐Track & Tennis Center ‐ Boston, MA | 200m (Banked)
21 Virginia Tech‐Rector FH ‐ Blacksburg, VA | 200m (Banked)
19 Birmingham Metro CrossPlex ‐ Birmingham, AL | 200m (Banked)
18 Albuquerque Convention Center ‐ Albuquerque, NM | 200m (Banked) | 4958 ft. elevation
14 JDL Fast Track ‐ Winston‐Salem, NC | 200m (Flat)
14 Armory Track & Field Center ‐ New York, NY | 200m (Banked)
11 Iowa State‐Leid Rec Center ‐ Ames, IA | 300m (Flat)
11 Notre Dame‐Loftus Center ‐ Notre Dame, IN | 352m (Flat)
11 Vanderbilt‐Multipurpose Facility ‐ Nashville, TN | 300m (Flat)
9 South Carolina‐Indoor Track & Field Complex ‐ Columbia, SC | 200m (Banked)
8 Indiana‐Gladstein FH ‐ Bloomington, IN | 200m (Banked)
8 Penn State‐Ashenfelter III Track (Banked) ‐ University Park, PA | 200m (Banked)
8 Sanford‐Jackrabbit Athletic Complex ‐ Brookings, SD | 300m (Flat)
6 Texas A&M‐Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium ‐ College Station, TX | 200m (Banked)
5 Houston‐Yeoman FH (Banked) ‐ Houston, TX | 200m (Banked)
5 Nebraska‐Devaney Center ‐ Lincoln, NE | 200m (Banked)
4 Montana State‐Breeden FH (Flat) ‐ Bozeman, MT | 200m (Flat) | 4926 ft. elevation
4 Northern Arizona‐Skydome ‐ Flagstaff, AZ | 300m (Flat) | 6877 ft. elevation
3 Colorado‐Indoor Practice Facility ‐ Boulder, CO | 300m (Flat) | 5337 ft. elevation
3 Kentucky‐Nutter FH ‐ Lexington, KY | 291m (Flat)
3 Minnesota‐Minnesota FH ‐ Minneapolis, MN | 200m (Flat)
2 Akron‐Field House ‐ Akron, OH | 300m (Flat)
2 Harvard‐Gordon Track and Tennis ‐ Cambridge, MA | 200m (Banked)
2 Kent State‐Kent State FH ‐ Kent, OH | 292m (Flat)
2 LSU‐Maddox FH ‐ Baton Rouge, LA | 200m (Flat)
2 Missouri‐Hearnes FH ‐ Columbia, MO | 200m (Flat)
2 Prince George’s Sports Complex ‐ Landover, MD | 200m (Flat)
1 Air Force‐Cadet Field House ‐ Colorado Springs, CO | 268m (Flat) | 7048 ft. elevation
1 Central Michigan‐Indoor Athletic Complex ‐ Lansing, MI | 200m (Flat)
1 East Tennessee State‐Memorial Center ‐ Johnson City, TN | 280m (Flat)
1 Eastern Michigan‐Bowen Fieldhouse ‐ Ypsilanti, MI | 200m (Flat)
1 Indiana State‐ISU Indoor Track ‐ Terre Haute, IN | 200m (Flat)
1 Iowa‐Recreation Building (Banked) ‐ Iowa City, IA | 200m (Banked)
1 Kansas State‐Ahearn FH ‐ Manhattan, KS | 200m (Flat)
1 Liberty‐Indoor Track Complex (Banked) ‐ Lynchburg, VA | 200m (Banked)
1 North Dakota St.‐Bison Sports Arena ‐ Fargo, ND | 200m (Flat)
1 North Dakota‐High Performance Center ‐ Grand Forks, ND | 300m (Flat)
1 NW Missouri‐Hughes Fieldhouse ‐ Maryville, MO | 300m (Flat)
1 Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex (Banked) ‐ Staten Island, NY | 200m (Banked)
1 South Dakota‐DakotaDome ‐ Vermillion, SD | 200m (Flat)
1 UW‐Parkside‐Petretti FH ‐ Kenosha, WI | 200m (Flat)
1 Wisconsin‐Camp Randall Sports Complex ‐ Madison, WI | 200m (Flat)
1 Youngstown State‐WATTS ‐ Youngstown, OH | 300m (Flat)

NCAA Qualification:

In the men’s and women’s 200-meters, 13-of-32 athletes qualified at the Randal Tyson Center
In the men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles, 13-of-32 athletes qualified at the Randal Tyson Center
In the men’s and women’s 4400-meter relay, 14-of-24 relays qualified at the Randal Tyson Center

No. 1 NCAA Marks (10):
Women’s 400-meters, Women’s 60-meter hurdles, Women’s 4×400-meter relay, Women’s Pole Vault, Women’s Triple Jump, Men’s 60-meters, Men’s 60-meter hurdles, Men’s Pole Vault, Men’s Triple Jump, Men’s Heptathlon

Top-10 Marks in the World: The Randal Tyson Track Center saw (25) marks that currently rank among the top-10 in the world this year, including an impressive five by Razorback athletes.

Men’s 60-meters #2 – Grant Holloway (Florida)
Men’s 200-meters #6 – Jaron Flournoy (LSU)
Men’s 200-meters #10 – Mustaqeem Williams (Tenn)
Men’s 60-meter hurdles #1 – Grant Holloway (Florida)
Men’s 60-meter hurdles #2 – Daniel Roberts (Kentucky)
Men’s High Jump #9 – JuVaughn Harrison (LSU)
Men’s High Jump #9 – Keenon Lane (Georgia)
Men’s Pole Vault #3 – Mondo Duplantis (LSU)
Men’s Long Jump #9 – Grant Holloway (Florida)
Men’s Triple Jump #5 – Yasser Mohamed Tahar Triki (Texas A&M)
Men’s Heptathlon #9 – Johannes Erm (Georgia)
Men’s 4×400-meters #3 – Florida
Men’s 4×400-meters #5 – Baylor
Men’s 4×400-meters #6 – LSU
Men’s 4×400-meters #10 – Arkansas (Tra. Caldwell, Roy. Ejiakuekwu, Hun. Woodhall, Joh. Winn)
Women’s 60-meters #10 – Kiara Parker (Arkansas)
Women’s 200-meters #2 – Kayla White (NC A&T)
Women’s 200-meters #5 – Tamara Clark (Alabama)
Women’s 200-meters #8 – Abby Steiner (Kentucky)
Women’s 200-meters #8 – Payton Chadwick (Arkansas)
Women’s 400-meters #3 – Lynna Irby (Georgia)
Women’s 400-meters #4 – Syaira Richardson (Texas A&M)
Women’s 60-meter hurdles #4 – Chanel Brissett (Southern California)
Women’s 60-meter hurdles #7 – Janeek Brown (Arkansas)
Women’s Pole Vault #10 – Lexi Jacobus (Arkansas)

Men’s Mile:

Three additions to the sub-4 minute list, including Cameron Griffith, brings the total number of four-minute miles to 116 in facility history.
There were no sub-4 minute miles in 2017 or 2018. Three performances under 4-minutes are the most since 2015 when Arkansas hosted the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Chris O’Hare’s 3:57.97 Arkansas Invitational meet record is the earliest an athlete has broken four in a season.

Men’s 60m Hurdles
Grant Holloway’s historic year in the hurdles had a major impact on the Tyson Center. 2019 saw four of the seven fastest 60-meter hurdle races in facility history, including Holloway’s fastest-60-meter hurdle prelim performance at the SEC Championships. Holloway’s 7.43 SEC win is the second-fastest time in collegiate history. Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts moved to fourth on the all-collegiate list with his SEC runner-up performance. The Tyson Center now owns five of the seven fastest hurdle races in collegiate history, including Olympic Gold Medalists Omar McLeod former collegiate record set in 2015.

Men’s Pole Vault
The collegiate record stays at the Tyson Center. In 2015, Akron’s Shawn Barber beat a 15-year old facility record in what was then a collegiate record. He bettered that mark later in the year and his collegiate record stood for four years. Until LSU’s Mondo Duplantis broke the facility, collegiate and Swedish national records at the SEC Championships last weekend. The Tyson Center now owns the three best vaults in collegiate history. 2019 US Indoor Champion and former Razorback opened his season with a meet record performance at the Arkansas Invitational. Year saw an incredible five performances over 18′-8.75″, by far the most in Tyson Center history.

Women’s 5,000 Meters
In an amazing solo effort, former Razorback and Olympian Dominique Scott came agonizingly close to setting the South African indoor 5,000-meter record in the Tyson Invitational. Her time of 15:51.25 fell less than six seconds shy of the 9-year old record, but is still one of the fastest times ever seen at the Tyson Center.

Women’s 60mHurdles
An incredible year saw nine performances at 8.02 or faster. Southern California’s Chanel Brissett moved to eight on the all-time collegiate list with her victory at the Tyson Invitational – the tenth fastest time in the Tyson Record book. Razorbacks Janeek Brown and Payton Chadwick ran multiple fast races throughout the season and now are featured prominently on the facility all-time best list. Chadwick, the SEC Champion, ran one of the fastest preliminary races ever at the Tyson Center with her 7.98 last weekend.

Women’s Pole Vault
A record list with legendary names Stuczynski, Dragila, and Morris now prominently features Lexi Jacobus who vaulted a school record and second best in NCAA History 15’-4.25″ in her meet record performance at the SEC Championships. The year saw seven performances over 14′-8.75″ – five of them by Razorbacks Jacobus and Victoria Hoggard.