Razorbacks Host Inaugural National Relay Championships

April 26, 2018

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 11 Arkansas is set to host one of the largest meets of the weekend – The National Relay Championships Apr. 27-28 at John McDonnell Field. The meet includes 16 Power Five programs and will be highlighted by a relay only format Saturday night that will be broadcast LIVE on the SEC Network.

The Razorbacks are one of nine Southeastern Conference teams ranked among the USTFCCCA top-25 and look to progress into the latter part of the outdoor season even stronger. Arkansas also leads the South Central Region, moving up from No. 2 in the last poll.

Head coach Chris Bucknam’s squad will be lining up against student-athletes from Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin.

“I think we’ve got good competition and that’s what its really going to take in those longer relays,” said head coach Chris Bucknam. “The 4-x-100-meters is going to be a hot race…you’ve got TCU and Baylor in there as well so that race is going to be really hot. We’re excited about the competition and that’s what this is all about is bringing in great competition, so it elevates our guys. We think our distance medley is good, I’m excited about that. We’re going against the national champions, Virginia Tech. They have the national runner-up in the mile, we have the third-place finisher in the 3K from the indoor season, so we feel like if it all comes together in that final leg that could be a great competitive race to watch, and you can’t count out Wisconsin either because they have some very outstanding middle-distance runners. Our 4×200-meter relays last year at the SEC relays broke the stadium record down at LSU… That relay was probably one of our highlights last year not only because of how fast they ran but because of where they did it. There’s going to be great relays and we think that we are going to be competitive in some of those for sure,” Bucknam continued.

Events to Watch

Long Jump
NCAA Indoor long jump runner-up Grant Holloway (NCAA No. 7) of Florida is among the leaders in the men’s long jump this season entering the meet with a best of 8.00m (26’-3”) in 2018. Florida State’s Corion Knight (NCAA No. 16) and Florida’s KeAndre Bates (NCAA No. 19), as well as Arkansas’ Rubin Owens and Harrison Schrage, are in the field that will step on the runway Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

100-meters
Arkansas senior Kenzo Cotton leads the way in the men’s 100-meter entries at the National Relay Championships. Cotton has posted a season-best of 10.12 (Arkansas Spring Invite) that currently ranks No. 8 in the NCAA.

Florida’s Ryan Clark (10.16) and Tennessee’s Mustaqeem Williams (10.22) enter the meet as the No. 16 and No. 22 marks in the nation this season. The men’s 100-meters is set for a 4:15 p.m. CT start on Friday afternoon.

400-meters
Obi Igbokwe will run his first open 400-meter of the season in a field that features seven of the top-25 quarter milers in the NCAA. Wil London (44.73) and Howard Fields III (46.09) of Baylor, Derrick Mokaleng (45.17) of TCU, Nathan Strother (45.46) of Tennessee, and Chantz Sawyers (45.71), Kunle Fasasi (45.83) and Benjamin Vedel (46.20) of Florida are among the top-25 performers in the NCAA this season. The men’s 400-meters is scheduled for Friday at 3:40 pm CT.

400-meter hurdles
The Razorbacks will roll three deep in the 400-meter hurdles with Kemar Mowatt, Larry Donald, and Chambers who are ranked No. 6, No. 19, and No. 20 in the NCAA, respectively. NCAA Top-10 hurdlers also in the field are Florida’s Cory Poole (No.5), Baylor’s Jayson Baldridge (No.8), and Virginia Tech’s Gregory Chiles (No.10). The men’s 400-meter hurdles are slated to run on Friday at 5:35 p.m. CT.

4-x-100-meter relay
Top-25 entries in the men’s 4-x-100-meter relay include NCAA No. 4 Florida (38.96), No. 6 Arkansas (39.07), No. 14 TCU (39.57), No. 17 Florida State (39.65), and No. 22 Tennessee (39.71). The 4×100-meters will take the track at 7:12 p.m. CT Saturday night.

4-x-400-meter relay
The NCAA-leader in the men’s 4-x-400-meter relay, Florida (3:01.00), leads the pack of top-25 teams that include No. 4 Baylor (3:03.63), No. 6 TCU (3:04.54), No. 8 Arkansas (3:05.48), No. 9 Minnesota (3:05.78), No. 14 Kansas (3:06.97), and No. 21 Tennessee (3:07.40). The 4×400-meter relays will close out the meet Saturday night at 8:43 p.m. CT.

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