Razorback Track Opens 2007 Season in Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas track and field will open the 2007 indoor season Friday, Jan. 12, when they host the Arkansas Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

The Arkansas Invitational is free for all spectators with the field events beginning at 12 p.m. and the running events following at 1 p.m. The finals of the running events and the championship heats of the running events will begin at 6 p.m.

UA will host 10 teams at the Arkansas Invitational on Friday. Baylor, Houston, Kansas State, Missouri Southern, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas A&M, UT- Arlington and UTSA will each be making the trip to Fayetteville.

Arkansas ended the 2006 indoor season winning its 42nd national championship (11 cross country, 19 indoor, 12 outdoor). The Razorbacks have won 80 conference titles, the most recent being head coach John McDonnell’s 33rd-consecutive conference cross country title in October, 2006. The Razorbacks have seen 179 athletes earn 638 All-America honors.

Head coach John McDonnell, in his 35th season with the Arkansas cross country and track and field programs, welcomes back 17 letterwinners, including four seniors from the 2006 indoor season. The Razorbacks have a younger look to the roster this season but are led by dominating seniors and experienced juniors and sophomores.

This week’s field includes many teams that finished well at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships and individuals who earned medals and All-America honors.

The Baylor Bears were eighth in 2006 while the Kansas State Wildcats finished just shy of the top 10 in 11th place. Texas A&M finished 25th.

The first United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll is scheduled to be released on Jan. 29. The first Trackwire 25 poll will be released later in the month.

Individually, the national performance lists, split by division and conference, can be found at TrackShark.com.