NCAA champs add Estonian multi-event standout

FAYETTEVILLE – Head coach Chris Bucknam and the University of Arkansas men’s track and field team have announced the addition of Karl Saluri to its 2013-14 signing class. With the addition of Saluri, the Razorbacks’ signee class grows to seven future Razorbacks. On the heels of back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes, this group marks the fifth for Bucknam and his staff at Arkansas.

Saluri joins the 2013-14 class that already includes Curtis Brown (Houston, Texas/Episcopal HS), Brandon Hill (Killeen, Texas/Harker Heights HS), Hunter Hopkins (Van, Texas/Van HS), Anthonio Mascoll (Bridgetown, Barbados/South Plains College), Eric Nathaniel (Little Rock, Ark./Parkview HS) and Clive Pullen (Kingston, Jamaica/Kingston College).

The Razorbacks’ past two recruiting classes have received a top-10 ranking from Track & Field News. Arkansas’ most recent class—the team’s current freshmen—was ranked sixth in the nation while the previous class was ranked fourth.

Personal Bests:

Heptathlon – 5,598 points

Decathlon – 7,583 points

60 Meters – 6.91

100 Meters – 10.86

400 Meters – 49.60

1,000 Meters – 2:43

1,500 Meters – 4:26

60m Hurdles – 8.63

High Jump – 1.86m/6-1.25

Pole Vault – 4.55m/14-11

Long Jump – 7.39m/24-3

Shot Put – 13.79m/45-3

Discus – 42.44m/139-3

Javelin – 55.80m/183-1

Notes on Saluri: Competing for his native Estonia, finished fifth in the decathlon at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona with a personal-best score of 7,583 points… broke the Estonian junior national record… established outdoor personal bests in seven of the 10 events at the prestigious international event…his personal-best heptathlon score of 5,598 points was set earlier this year at the Tallinn Combined Events competition…finished in eighth place in the decathlon at the 2011 European Junior Championships with 7,453 points.

What Bucknam says about Saluri: “Karl is one of the best decathletes in the world coming out of high school this year. He reminds us a lot of our national champion Kevin Lazas. (Karl) is fast, is explosive and can throw. We have a phenomenal combined events program and he is the exact type of addition we need to keep that area of our program at the elite level.”

For more information regarding Razorback track and field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com. Fans can also keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter pages.