Arkansas Invitational opens indoor season for Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE – A new season starts this Friday with the Arkansas Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center, and the Arkansas squad will feature plenty of new faces making their Razorback debut.
A live stream of the meet will start at 1 p.m. on SEC Network + (link) while live results are available through FlashResults (link).
The Arkansas Invitational starts at 11 a.m. with the men’s shot put contested in the Fowler Family Training Center portion of the indoor facility and the women’s high jump in the Tyson Center. Running events begin at 1 p.m. with races including distances of 300, 600 and 1,000m in addition to traditional 60, 200, 400 and 800m events.
A combination of newcomers to the Arkansas program arrived from the transfer portal as well as the traditional route from high school. The overall result for the Razorbacks is talent and depth across various event areas.
“With the number of transfers we brought in, they’ve blended in really well and we’ve developed some team cohesion,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “Now it’s a question of feathering in all of our guys into the first meet of the season.
“We go from all training for months right into a meet. It may sound easy, but it’s not. We’re back from the winter break and haven’t started school yet. So, it’s a question of being really patient with these guys. This is the start of the season, it’s an important meet, but we’re going to take our time and make sure everyone stays healthy.”
The shot put will include two of three transfers with Jordan West and Rojé Stona along with the multi-event crew led by 2022 Bowerman finalist Ayden Owens-Delerme.
The multi-event group will also compete in the pole vault and includes Yariel Soto Torrado, Daniel Spejcher, Noah Swaby, and Marcus Weaver.
“We have a pitch count with a lot of our elite guys, and that pitch count involves being really careful with when we compete them and how we compete them,” noted Bucknam. “This is our first meet of the year and you will see a couple of our throwers compete and we’re excited to watch that.
“You’ll see more of our athletes in their primary event the closer we get to the Razorback Invitational at the end of January.”
Racing at the 300m distance includes James Benson II, Lance Lang, Jeremy Farr, Connor Washington, Devontie Archer and Phillip Anderson. In the 600m, the Razorbacks will feature Chris Bailey, Tristan LaVan, Ricardo Banks, Jadon Bartholomew, Leroy Russell III, and TJ Tomlyanovich.
The 1,000m race will include Elias Schreml, Ben Shearer, Jacob McLeod, Ryan Murphy, Reuben Reina, Luke George, and Tommy Romanow.
Racing in the mile, Lexington Hilton will make his debut in a Razorback uniform. He will be joined by Patrick Kiprop, Myles Richter, Josh Shearer, and Jack Williams along with the Arkansas crew racing at 1,000m.
Phillip Lemonious leads a crew of Razorbacks in the 60m hurdles that includes Matthew Lewis-Banks, Shaka Bogan, and Brevin Sims.
“We’ve got a lot of fire power,” stated Bucknam. “I have to hand it to my coaches, they’ve done a phenomenal job working the recruiting this summer. We’re excited about this season, and you’ll learn these names as we go through the season.
Arkansas alums scheduled to compete include Austen Dalquist (800m), Andrew Irwin (pole vault), LaQuan Nairn (60m), Collin O’Mara (1,000m), Erich Sullins (weight), and Marqueze Washington (60m).
In regard to the importance the transfer portal process has played in producing a very talented Razorback squad for the 2023 season, various aspects on the UA campus have played a hand in Arkansas utilizing that avenue.
“The portal has worked out really well for us,” said Bucknam. “What it comes down to for me is the basics. We have a great university. It’s a phenomenal school, great location, and our facilities are off the charts. It’s a good vibe, especially with the overall success we’re having in Arkansas athletes from football winning bowl games, men’s basketball in the Elite 8 a couple times, baseball in the College World Series, along with all the winning within our athletic department. It’s the perfect storm of a lot of things coming together for us.
“We’ve won seven of the past eight SEC Championships in track and cross country, so we win a lot in that arena. We compete for national titles. Our kids are having a lot of fun when we compete. Winning those championships has made a difference for us in the portal. It’s a great time to be a Razorback.”