4x400M improves at NBCI

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Arkansas Razorback men’s track and field concluded competition at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Track Center on Saturday.

The Razorback 4×400-meter relay showed improvement as the final event of the day. The quartet of freshman Ben Skidmore, sophomore Chris Bilbrew, freshman Travis Nollsch and freshman Jake Stephens combined for a time of 3:12.35. They finished sixth overall.

Freshman Marek Niit made his Razorback debut and ran two solid rounds of the 200 meters. He was the top finisher among the three Hog competitors. In the prelims, Niit finished seventh in the field of 95 with a time 21.52 to advance to the finals. He followed that up with a 21.50 clocking in the finals to finish eighth. His final time of 21.50 ranks tied for 10th with Clarence Fitzgerald (1998) on the Arkansas Top-10 all-time list.

Also in the 200 meters, senior J-Mee Samuels clocked a 200-meter prelim time of 21.74 to finished 14th and senior Cedric Zellner clocked a prelim time of 22:46 top finish 48th.

In the field events, freshman Tarik Batchelor finished ninth in the championship flight of the triple jump. His best jump measured 51-0. Sophomore Alain Bailey finished 10th in the championship flight of the high jump. He cleared 6-8.25.

Freshman Lane Boyer finished fifth in the field of 53 in the collegiate mile. He clocked a time of 4:11.88.

In other Razorback action, freshman Eric Fernandez competed in the USA Junior Cross Country Championships Saturday morning in Derwood, Maryland at the Agricultural History Farm Park. He finished ninth in stacked race of some of the nation’s best young distance runners. He clocked an 8,000-meter time of 24:55 and narrowly missed a trip to the World Junior Championships. For complete results, visit usatf.org.

Up next for the Cardinal and White is the hosting of the Tyson Invitational, Fri.-Sat., Feb. 13-14. For more information, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.