Razorbacks advance 11 more to Eugene for NCAA Championships
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Arkansas advanced 11 more individuals in four events to the NCAA Championships in Eugene during the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary round held at E.B. Cushing Stadium on Saturday.
The 4×100 and 4×400 relays both qualified for a trip to Oregon along with a pair of Razorbacks – Phillip Lemonious and Carl Elliott, III – in the 110m hurdles and Amon Kemboi in the 5,000m. The NCAA Championships will be held June 9-12 at Hayward Field.
Arkansas will total 14 athletes among the nine entries they have in seven events in Eugene.
In the men’s 4×100, the Razorback line-up of Josh Oglesby, Kris Hari, Roman Turner, and Josh Brown produced a season best of 39.26 to finish second in the heat and secure an automatic qualification to the NCAA semifinal.
The 12 teams advancing from the NCAA West include Texas A&M (38.93), Houston (39.02), TCU (39.03), Texas Tech (39.07), Texas (39.17), USC (39.20), Arkansas (39.26), Oregon (39.30), BYU (39.43), Iowa (39.57), Arizona State (39.67), and Sam Houston (39.68).
Two of the three Razorbacks in the 110m hurdles advanced, and a false start eliminated the other. Lemonious overcame a slow start, following the false start of teammate Tre’Bien Gilbert, and won his heat in a career best of 13.44 (+1.1 wind), which moves him to No. 3 on the UA all-time list.
Elliott finished as runner-up in the first heat of the hurdles with a career best of 13.62. He is No. 7 on the UA all-time list, the position Lemonious previously held.
The two times that currently rank better on the all-time list than Lemonious are a 12.97 by Omar McLeod (2015) and a 13.41 by Kevin White (1993).
In the 4×400, the Razorbacks snared the final time qualifier with a 3:05.10 that placed them fourth in the final heat. The foursome for Arkansas included Jeremy Farr, Jalen Brown, Rhayko Schwartz (46.05), and James Milholen (45.60).
Teams advancing in the 4×400 include USC (3:02.85), Texas A&M (3:03.12), Texas (3:03.53), Arizona (3:04.10), SFA (3:04.13), BYU (3:04.52), UTEP (3:04.60), Oklahoma (3:04.68), Iowa (3:04.71), TCU (3:04.92), Arkansas (3:05.10), and Baylor (3:06.06).
Schools who advanced in both relays from the NCAA West were Arkansas, BYU, Iowa, TCU, Texas, and Texas A&M.
Amon Kemboi clocked 14:00.96 for fifth place in his heat of the 5,000m to earn an automatic qualification. In the second heat, Razorback teammate Luke Meade ran faster with a 13:58.69, but in placing ninth in the heat and 12th overall did not advance on time. The final time qualifier was attained at 13:55.97.
Andrew Kibet set a career best of 8:50.14 to place fourth in the second heat of the 3,000m steeplechase, but that time ranked 15th overall and didn’t advance to Eugene. Emmanuel Cheboson placed seventh in the third and final heat with an 8:58.37 to place 20th overall. Carter Persyn ran in the opening heat, and did not finish.
Nick Hilson ran 50.86 for fifth in his section of the 400m hurdles to place 15th overall. Racing at 400m, Schwartz (46.72) and Milholen (47.80) placed 17th and 24th overall.
NCAA Championships | Razorbacks Advancing (9 entries, 7 events, 14 athletes)
| 110m Hurdles | Phillip Lemonious, Carl Elliott, III |
| 5,000 | Amon Kemboi |
| 10,000m | Gilbert Boit |
| 4×100 Relay | Josh Oglesby, Kris Hari, Roman Turner, Jalen Brown |
| 4×400 Relay | Jeremy Farr, Jalen Brown, Rhayko Schwartz, James Milholen |
| Triple Jump | LaQuan Nairn |
| Decathlon | Markus Ballengee, Daniel Spejcher |