No. 3 Razorbacks Seek 21st #SECTF Indoor Title

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 3 University of Arkansas men’s track and field team begins its championship campaign Friday with the start of the 2015 SEC Indoor Championships at Nutter Field House in Lexington, Ky. Since joining the SEC in 1991-92, the Razorbacks have won 20 of 23 indoor conference titles including the past three. The two-day meet begins Friday at 9 a.m. (CT) with the start of the heptathlon.

The 2015 SEC Indoor Championships will be streamed live on SEC Network PLUS beginning 2:50 p.m. on Friday and 12:50 p.m. on Saturday. The meet will also air as part of a 90-minute ESPNU highlights show March 9 at 6:30 p.m. Dwight Stones and Larry Rawson will handle the play-by-play and color commentary duties, respectively, with Jill Montgomery reporting from the competition area.

Five of Arkansas’ 20 SEC indoor crowns have come under the direction of seventh-year head coach Chris Bucknam. Last year, the Razorbacks scored 121 points and won three individual events on their way to the indoor title in College Station. The program has won four team titles (2001, 2007, 2009, 2012) when the meet is held in Lexington. Arkansas is looking for the second leg of a would-be SEC Triple Crown after winning the league’s cross country meet in October.

Individually, the Razorbacks have racked up 101 event titles at the SEC indoor meet and feature two returning champions for this year’s event. Patrick Rono is a three-time SEC indoor champion with an individual title in mile in 2012 and a pair of DMR titles from 2012 and 2013. In the field events, Andrew Irwin has two SEC indoor titles in the pole vault having placed first in 2012 and 2013.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, Arkansas has collected five marks ranked first in the SEC. That list features Irwin in the pole vault (5.75m/18-10.25), Kemoy Campbell at 3,000 meters (7:48.13), Jarrion Lawson in the long jump (8.03m/26-4.25), Omar McLeod over the 60-meter hurdles (7.60) and the distance-medley foursome of Campbell, Rono, Jamarco Stephen and Austen Dalquist (9:28.37). Lawson and McLeod are also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA.

Arkansas is set to face a loaded field that features five of the top-seven teams in the country and eight top-25 teams overall. Following this weekend’s meet, the Razorbacks will return to Fayetteville where they will host the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships on Feb. 13-14 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.