No. 1 Razorbacks go to NYC for Armory meet

FAYETTEVILLE – The No. 1 University of Arkansas men’s track and field team continues its season this weekend with the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York. Competition for the Razorback men begins Friday at 11:35 p.m. (CT) and Saturday at 10:55 a.m. The Razorbacks are one of 10 ranked teams scheduled to compete this weekend in New York.

Along with Arkansas, the lineup of ranked teams at the Armory Collegiate Invitational is set to feature No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Oregon, No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Texas, No. 15 Mississippi State, No. 19 BYU, No. 20 Stanford and No. 22 Oklahoma. The Razorbacks last competed at The Armory in 2011 where they posted 52 points and a fourth-place finish in the team standings.

In Tuesday’s release of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top-25 poll, Arkansas continued to hold steady as the No. 1 team in the country. The Razorbacks have been the top-ranked team since the organization’s preseason release. Arkansas is one of seven ranked teams from the SEC, all of which are positioned inside the top 20.

Arkansas enters the month of February with three NCAA-leading marks by way of Raymond Higgs in the long jump, Tarik Batchelor in the triple jump and Kevin Lazas in the heptathlon. During the Razorbacks’ season-opening dual meet with Texas, Higgs established a mark of 7.95m/26-1. Last weekend at the Razorback Team Invitational, Batchelor and Lazas set marks of 16.37m/53-8.5 and 6,042 points, respectively. For his performance, Lazas was named the SEC Field Athlete of the Week.

In their last outing, the Arkansas men totaled 124 points on their way to a first-place finish at the Razorback Team Invitational. The Razorbacks collected six wins over the two-day competitions with victories from Batchelor in the triple jump, Lazas in the heptathlon, Akheem Gauntlett at 400 meters, Patrick Rono at 800 meters, Caleb Cross in the 60-meter hurdles and Andrew Irwin in the pole vault.

Fans can follow along this weekend with Arkansas’ interactive blog, live results at ArmoryTrack.com and video coverage available at Flotrack.org. 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.