Men?s track still No. 1 set for Tyson

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 1 Arkansas Razorback men’s track and field will host one of the premiere track and field events in the nation this weekend. The Tyson Invitational promises a stellar field Fri.-Sat., Feb. 13-14.

Scheduled to compete are Alabama, Albany, Auburn, No. 6 Florida, No. 5 Florida State, No. 11 Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Liberty, No. 8 LSU, No. 13 Michigan, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Texas, No. 15 Northern Iowa, Ohio State, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 3 Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 7 Texas, No. 9 Texas Tech, and Tulsa.

In Friday night’s invitational events, fans will have the chance to see Alex McClary in the 800 meters, Dorian Ulrey and Andy McClary in the mile, Shawn Forrest and James Strang in the 5,000 meters and Arkansas’ 4×400-meter relay compete.

In the latest U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, released Feb. 11, Arkansas holds the top spot in the nation for the third-straight week. Rounding out the top three are No. 2 Arizona State and No. 3 Oregon. The Razorbacks are the highest seated of the seven SEC schools in the poll.

Arkansas student-athletes currently hold the top marks in the SEC in the mile (Dorian Ulrey), the 3,000 meters (Dorian Ulrey), the DMR (McClary, Skidmore, Bilbrew, Ulrey) and the triple jump (Nkosinza Balumbu). Additionally, Razorbacks hold five top-three marks in five more events (800M, 3,000M, 5,000M, long jump, triple jump).

In addition to high SEC rankings, Arkansas also sports many athletes ranked among the nation’s top 25. Nine Razorbacks plus the members of the DMR hold top 25 spots in five events (800M, mile, 3,000M, long jump, triple jump).

Collegiate events will be held Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Invitational events will be held Friday, 8-10 p.m. On Fri., Feb. 13, field events will begin at 10 a.m. with running starting at 11 a.m. Invitational events will begin at 8 p.m. On Sat., Feb. 14, field events will begin at 10 a.m. and running events will begin at 10:55 a.m. The doors will open to spectators one hour before the first event.

There will be no charge for admission to Friday and Saturday’s collegiate events. After the 4 p.m. 60 meters is completed on Friday, the Randal Tyson Track Center will close to prepare for Friday night’s invitational events.

Tickets must be purchased for the invitational portion of the meet from 8-10 p.m. Ticket prices for the invitational events are: $20 reserved seating, $10 general admission and children under 12 get in free with a paid adult. Tickets can be purchased on site or by calling 800-766-4626.

Live results can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com. A complete meet recap will available at ArkansasRazorbacks.com shortly after the final event. The 2009 Tyson Invitational will be broadcast Sun., Feb. 15, 4-6 p.m. CST on ESPN.

Download: 2.13.09 Tyson Inv.pdf