Noah Lyles, Jordan Anthony headline impressive Tyson Invitational field
FAYETTEVILLE – The 2026 version of the Tyson Invitational will feature 2024 Olympic 100m gold medalist Noah Lyles and 2025 Bowerman winner Jordan Anthony competing at Randal Tyson Track Center this weekend along with 50 schools represented.
“When you look at headliners as far as individuals we will have the two Paris Olympic 100m gold medalist in the 100m with Noah Lyles on the men’s side and Julien Alfred on the women’s side,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Doug Case. “We’re appreciative that they’re here and coming to our facility. They’ll have an impact in this meet.
“We also have Jereem Richards, who is a World Indoor champion and World Outdoor silver medalist in the 400m, and we’ll see the return of Jordan Anthony in the 60m this weekend. I’m excited about having Jordan coming back in here and see where he is and everything.”
A portion of the meet will include events with World Athletics Silver status. They include the 60m, 400m, 60m hurdles, and long jump on Friday as well as the high jump on Saturday.
Both days of the meet will stream on SEC Network +, starting at 5 p.m. (CT) on Friday and 2 p.m. (CT) on Saturday. Live results will be available through flashresults.com.
“This meet is really known world-wide and I think it’s one of the most recognizable meets in the world,” stated Case. “When you talk to athletes from anywhere they know of the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas.
“I really appreciate and like to thank the Tyson family and Tyson Foods for their support, not only with this meet but with athletics at Arkansas and in particular track and field. They’ve been great supporters of us and we really appreciate it.”
Notable Entrants | Championship events
| 60m | Jordan Anthony, Ronnie Baker, Treyvon Bromell, Jelani Watkins, Rohan Watson |
| 400m | Steven McElroy, Jenoah McKiver, Khaleb McRae, Jereem Richards |
| 60m Hurdles | Johnny Brackins, Jerome Campbell, Michael Dickson, Phillip Lemonious, Vashaun Vascianna |
| High Jump | Romain Beckford, Kason O’Riley, Brian Raats, Caleb Snowden, Vernon Turner, Scottie Vines |
| Long Jump | Malcom Clemons, Tajay Gayle, Henry Kiner, Luvo Manyonga, Steffin McCarter, Cordell Tinch |
From updated USTFCCCA national rankings this week, the field competing at the Tyson Invitational will include No. 1 Kansas State, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Arkansas, No. 12 Illinois, No. 17 Iowa, No. 18 Florida, No. 19 Villanova, No. 23 LSU, and No. 25 Nebraska.
“There are 50 schools from all across the country with a least a representative at this meet, so it’s a really big meet,” noted Case. “We’ll draw people from everywhere as we always have. I think it will be a super meet.”
For the Razorbacks this meet is key in getting athletes delivering marks in their specialty events for seeding purposes in the upcoming SEC Championships as well as producing marks that rank among the nation’s top 16 in order to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships that Arkansas will host on March 13-14.
Currently the Razorbacks have seven athletes with marks among the nation’s top 16 heading into this weekend with another four athletes within range of the top 16.
“We need to get a mark in some events so that we’re in the right heats in the conference meet and NCAAs,” said Case. “A lot of athletes who are opening up in individual events need to get a NCAA qualifying mark, but we’re also looking for a time that will get them in the right seeding position for the SEC meet as well.
“This is an important meet and it’s become more important because we got beat up by the flu for a couple of weeks. There’s a lot riding on this meet. I think the guy’s are going to step up and rise to the occasion.”
Arkansas Men | Current national ranking
| 60m | 6.60 | =18) | Jelani Watkins |
| 200m | 20.80 | =19) | Dapriest Hogans |
| 400m | 45.83 | 14) | Devyn Wright |
| 3,000m | 7:43.66 | 10) | Ernest Cheruiyot |
| 7:49.54 | =22) | Nick Busienei | |
| 60m H | 7.57 | =6) | Jerome Campbell |
| 7.58 | 8) | Vashaun Vascianna | |
| 7.59 | =9) | Karamoko Sacko | |
| 7.68 | =19) | Abdoul Sy-Savane | |
| HJ | 7-3 (2.21) | =6) | Scottie Vines |
| TJ | 53-6.5 (16.32) | 10) | Abraham Johnson |