Razorbacks announce eight additions to 2024 signing class

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas men’s track and field has announced eight additions to its 2024 signing class, bringing its current total of new Razorbacks for the 2024-25 season to 11.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this group of high school athletes and early transfers,” stated Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “This phase 1 of our recruiting class is only the start.

“With the transfer portal opening in 16 days, we will look to add more athletes with NCAA scoring experience to this already strong signing class.“

Recent signings for Arkansas include a crew of preps in decathlete Jaxson Bair of Kimberly High School in Idaho; sprinter Kevin Bello of Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas; long jumper Sebastian Berntsen of Norway; jumper Ty Mathes of IMG Academy in Florida; and hurdler Abdoul Sy-Savane of Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia.

Transfers to the Razorback program include hurdler Cale Kassen of Valley View, Texas, who has competed at Texas Tech and Lee University (Tennessee); jumper Henry Kiner of Humble, Texas, who competed at Atascocita High School as well as Coffeyville Community College and Pittsburg State in Kansas; along with middle distance runner Tyrice Taylor, who is from Linstead, Jamaica, and competed at Vere Technical in high school along with Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.

They will join the other previous signees for Arkansas that include Julian Cater II, Juriad Hughes, Jr., and Cooper Williams.

Bair finished high school in 2022 and underwent a two-year mission trip. At the 2022 Idaho 3A State meet he claimed three titles in the pole vault, long jump, and 110m hurdles while placing second in the 400m.

In 2021, Bair finished the season as the U.S. high school leader in the decathlon with a score of 7,496 points, which ranks No. 8 all-time among preps. He produced the score to win the 17-18 age division of the USATF National Junior Olympics, bettering the meet score of 7,405 points set by Donovan Kilmartin in 2001.

Competing at the 2021 Idaho 3A State Championships, Bair claimed four individual titles in the 110m hurdles, high jump, pole vault and shot put. In 2019 he was the 3A State champion in the pole vault.

High school best marks for Bair include 10.78 (100), 14.12 (110H), 48.80 (400), 6-4 (HJ), 14-6 (PV), 24-0.75 (LJ), 54-9.75 (SP).

At the recent 2024 Texas 6A State meet, Bello was a finalist in the 100m and 400m. In qualifying for the State meet, he finished third in the 100m with a career best 10.43 at the Region III-6A meet and placed second in the 400m.

A career best of 46.04 produced a 400m victory in the Area meet. Bello had a wind-aided best of 10.30 to win district and added a 46.49 victory in the 400m. He also ran the anchor leg of 4 x 400m relay that finished fourth in the region final.

As a junior, Bello produced wind-aided bests of 10.45 and 21.46 in advancing to the Region III-6A final in both events. He also placed eighth in the 100m finals at the 2023 USATF National Junior Olympic Championships.

A junior national champion in the long jump, Berntsen has been a finalist for Norway in the European U18 and U20 long jump competitions while also earning a silver medal in the medley relay at the Euro U18 meet.

Berntsen finished seventh in the long jump at the 2023 European U20 Championships where he set a career best 25-0.5 (7.63) in the qualifying round and had a 24-8.5 (7.53) in the final. Berntsen ranked sixth in the world for the 2023 season among all athletes born in 2005.

At Lee University in Tennessee, Kassen captured three titles in the 2024 Gulf South Conference, winning the 110m hurdles in 13.98 after a 13.85 in the prelims while adding titles in the high jump (6-9.75 | 2.08) and long jump (24-1 | 7.34).

Earlier this season Kassen scored 7,406 points to win the decathlon at the Lee University Invitational. Indoors, Kassen scored 5,801 points to win the heptathlon at the 2024 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships and he also won the 60m hurdle title.

In 2020, competing at Texas Tech, Kassen finished fourth in the Big 12 Indoor 60m hurdles with a 7.35 career best and sixth in the high jump. In high school at Valley View, he claimed three Texas 2A State titles in the 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles and high jump in 2018 and 2019.

Kiner won the 2023 NCAA Indoor Division II long jump with a career best of 26-4.5 (8.04) and added a bronze medal at the NCAA Outdoor Division II meet with an outdoor best of 26-1.75 (7.97).

In 2022, Kiner placed second in the triple jump and third in the long jump at NCAA Outdoor Division II Championships with marks of 52-0 (15.85) and 25-4 (7.72). He won the Mt. SAC Relays triple jump with a career best 53-8 (16.36). Indoors, he swept conference and national triple jump titles with marks of 52-6.75 (16.02) and 53-2.75 (16.22).

Mathes earned a silver medal in the triple jump at the 2024 New Balance Indoor Nationals with a career best of 49-10.5 (15.20). This outdoor season, he placed second at Florida State Relays and third in the Florida Relays. Mathes finished fifth at the 2023 AAU Junior Olympic Games in the triple jump.

Sy-Savane won the 60m hurdles in 7.67 at the 2024 Nike Indoor Nationals and finished as runner-up in 110m hurdles at 2023 New Balance Outdoor Nationals with a career best 13.52.

He set a career best of 7.59 in the 60m hurdles to win 2023 New Balance Indoor Nationals and added a fourth place in 200m. In 2022, he finished as silver medalist at AAU Junior Olympics in 110m hurdles with a 13.60.

As a freshman, Taylor won the 2023 NJCAA Outdoor 800m in a career best 1:46.94 and ran on silver medal 4 x 400m relay (3:03.96). During the 2023 NJCAA Indoor, he collected gold in the 600m (1:20.58) along with a pair of bronze medals in the 800m and 4 x 400m relay.

Taylor finished as the silver medalist in the 800m at 2024 NJCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 1:50.62 and produced an indoor season best of 1:48.49.

During 2024 outdoor season, he posted a best of 1:47.92 to win Jim Duncan Invitational. After placing second at the John McDonnell Invitational (1:48.22), Taylor won the LSU Invitational (1:48.29) and Region XI Championships (1:48.98).

Recent performances by Razorbacks signees includes five medals for Cooper Williams of Fayetteville HS in the Arkansas 6A State Championships as he won the high jump, placed second in the 300m hurdles and triple jump while adding a third place in long jump.

Juriad Hughes, Jr., of Irondale HS in Minnesota, had wind-aided times of 10.51 and 10.58 in winning the 100m at the Hamline Elite Meet.