Razorback Invitational features another stellar field of teams
FAYETTEVILLE – A field of 12 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.
“It’s definitely a big test and that’s what we do here at Arkansas,” noted Arkansas men’s associate head coach Doug Case. “We try to compete against the best week in and week out. Facility-wise we have the best indoor track in the world and we draw a lot of these big teams. It raises our level of competition and raises the level we compete at every weekend.”
The first set of national rankings released this week based on data from the early stages of the indoor season include No. 6 Iowa State, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 21 Florida, No. 22 Oklahoma State, and No. 25 Tennessee. Additional teams entered in the Razorback Invitational include Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, and Utah.
A live stream through SEC Network + will be available both days, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday. Live results will be available through Flashresults.com at this link: https://tinyurl.com/5n8rrmee.
“This meet traditionally has been one of the best meets in the country for national qualifying marks for many years,” Case said. “There are a lot of powerful, good teams who bring great competition here to Fayetteville. We generally get a lot of stuff done this weekend.
“We will be competing nine athletes who have not competed yet this year and six of them haven’t been in a Razorback uniform.”
The men’s mile, set for 11:40 a.m. on Saturday, features Reubin Reina, who equaled the 48-year-old Arkansas school record with his 3:55.40 victory two weeks ago, along with Yaseen Abdalla, who set the UA record in the 3,000m with a 7:34.17 performance in December and has a mile career best of 3:57.53 from 2022.
A time of 3:49.89 set by Bernard Lagat in the 2005 Tyson Invitational is the Tyson Center facility record. The top mark inside the Tyson Center by a collegian is 3:50.39 by Oregon’s Cooper Teare in the 2021 Tyson Invitational, which is also the current collegiate record.
Freshman Scottie Vines, the World U20 Champion in the high jump, makes his Razorback debut as well as his first indoor competition in the high jump. He will be joined by teammates Joshua Blakely and Andrew Hughes.
Jordan Anthony, who last raced at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, will make his season debut in the sprints, racing in the 60m and 200m. Defending NCAA Indoor 800m champion Rivaldo Marshall makes his season debut in the 800m after opening the season racing at 600m. He will be joined by teammate Tyrice Taylor and alum Chris Bailey in the final section of the 800m.
The heptathlon features four Razorbacks with senior Jack Turner leading the group that includes sophomore Gabriel Emmanuel along with a pair of freshmen in Jaxon Bair and Cooper Williams. Arkansas alums Daniel Spejcher and Marcus Williams are among the field of 12.
A crew of eight sprinters in the 400m are led by TJ Tomlyanovich and Steven McElroy. In the 60m hurdles, TJ Caldwell, Vashaun Vascianna and Grant Williams will have their season debut.
Tomlyanvich will race in a section of the 400m that includes Canadian Christopher Morales Williams, who set a world indoor best of 44.05 on the Tyson track in winning the 2024 SEC title.
Razorback newcomers in the long jump making their debut include Uroy Ryan and Henry Kiner as they join Sebastian Berntsen and Juriad Hughes, who each competed two weeks ago. NCAA triple jump bronze medalist Apalos Edwards opens the season this weekend as well and is joined by Link Lindsey and Kiner.
On Saturday, a pair of UA distance runners – Patrick Kiprop and Timothy Chesondin – will compete in the 5,000m at the Terrier Classic hosted by Boston University.
