Razorbacks stay No. 1 in national rankings

FAYETTEVILLE – Off its team-title performance at the 2013 SEC Indoor Championships, the University of Arkansas men’s track and field team remains the No. 1 team in the country with this week’s release of the USTFCCCA national poll. In national event rankings, the Razorbacks have 12 top-10 marks entering the final weekend prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be contested in Fayetteville.

Arkansas is the top-ranked team in the NCAA for the seventh consecutive week, dating back to the 2013 preseason USTFCCCA poll. The top-three teams in the country remain unchanged with the Razorbacks at No. 1, ahead of Florida and Texas A&M ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively. Overall, the conference is represented by six teams in this week’s poll with the additions of LSU at No. 16, Ole Miss at No. 23 and Auburn at No. 25.

Senior Tarik Batchelor is the NCAA leader in the triple jump with his personal-best mark of 16.53m/54-2.75 last weekend at the SEC Championships. With the result, he secured the second SEC indoor title of his career; Batchelor on the conference long jump title in 2011. Andrew Irwin, another SEC champion for the Razorbacks, is ranked No. 2 nationally in the pole vault with his conference-winning, school-record clearance of 5.60/18-4.5.

The Razorbacks have five other top-five national performances with Caleb Cross in the 60-meter hurdles (third, 7.65), Raymond Higgs in the long jump (third, 7.95m/26-1), Kevin Lazas in the heptathlon (third, 6,042 points), 4x400-meter relay (fourth, 3:06.26) and distance-medley relay (fifth, 9:35.50). Overall, Arkansas has 18 marks within the top 16 on the NCAA Division I Indoor Qualifying List.

Behind three event titles and 152.5 points, the Arkansas men won the program’s 19th SEC indoor title last weekend in Fayetteville. On the final day of competition, the Razorbacks collected conference titles from Batchelor in the triple jump, Irwin in the pole vault and the team’s distance-medley relay. The win represented the fourth SEC indoor title for head coach Chris Bucknam, and his 10th overall at Arkansas. Dating back to the 2011 outdoor meet, the Razorbacks have won six consecutive SEC event championships.

This weekend, the Razorbacks will host the Arkansas Final Qualifier at the Randal Tyson Track Center and send their distance-medley relay to the Alex Wilson Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame. The home meet will be held Friday with field events scheduled for a noon (CT) start and running events beginning at 5 p.m. The DMR is also scheduled to compete Friday in the South Bend, Ind., event.

Arkansas will host the NCAA Indoor Championships (March 8-9) at the Track Center for the 11th time in program history. For tickets, visit the Razorback Ticket Center on Razorback Road by Baum Stadium, log on to the online ticket office at ArkansasRazorbacks.com or call 800-982-HOGS (4647). Keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through the team’s sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter pages.

USTFCCCA Men’s Top 10 (Week #6)
1. ARKANSAS – 196.27 points
2. Florida – 175.95
3. Texas A&M – 114.33
4. Wisconsin – 99.37
5. Oregon – 85.62
6. Nebraska – 73.72
7. Indiana – 70.44
8. Texas Tech – 67.58
9. Texas – 63.86
10. Penn State – 62.10