Arkansas Holds Steady at No. 2 in Trackwire Poll

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas held steady at No. 2 in the latest Trackwire.com national track and field team rankings. The Razorbacks are No. 2 for the second week in a row after sharing the runner-up position with Texas a week ago.

LSU remains atop the poll with a projected 47 NCAA points with Arkansas trailing just behind with 45 points. Texas (42) dropped to third in the rankings this week while Florida State (35) and Wisconsin (35) are tied for fourth. Nebraska (31), Arizona (29), Baylor (28), Michigan (27) and Tennessee (26) round out the top 10 spots in the Trackwire rankings this week.

LSU, Arkansas and Tennessee will take to the track this weekend at the 2006 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Gainesville, Fla.

The poll is based on projected scoring in each event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships set for March 10-11 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville.

Arkansas boasts 10 entries in the Dandy Dozen individual event rankings released this week. Junior Peter Kosgei and senior Josphat Boit continue to rank at the top of both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs. Kosgei ranks third in the 3,000 while Boit rates just behind his teammate in fourth. In the 5,000-meter run, the rankings are reversed with Boit holding down the third spot and Kosgei ranking fourth.

Junior Adam Perkins and senior Said Ahmed both earned rankings in the mile run in the Dandy Dozen this week. Perkins and Ahmed rank eighth and 10th, respectively. Arkansas also is among the national leaders in the distance medley relay. After clocking the second-fastest time in the nation at the Tyson Invitational two weeks ago, the Razorbacks rank third in that event this week.

Senior Jaanus Uudmae ranks second in the nation in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump. Uudmae will defend his league title in the triple jump this weekend in Gainesville. He will also attempt to improve his provisional qualifying mark in the long jump. Freshman Nkosinza Balumbu also represents the Hogs in the triple jump rankings garnering the fourth position.

Arkansas will be seeking its 78th conference title combined in track and field this weekend at the Stephen ‘O’ Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida. Since the Razorbacks entered the league in time for the 1991-92 season, Arkansas has won 12 of 14 conference indoor crowns. The Hogs are the defending league indoor champions after winning the SEC championship last year at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville.