Razorbacks Hold Onto No. 2 National Outdoor Track Ranking

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas is ranked No. 2 nationally this week in two major outdoor track and field polls. The defending outdoor national champions retained their No. 2 ranking in the Trackwire.com listing while debuting at No. 2 in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCCA) national poll this week.

Florida State is the nation’s top ranked team in both polls. The Seminoles have a projected 60 points in Trackwire’s poll. Arkansas is second with 49 points with Texas (48 points), LSU (47 points) and UTEP (46 points) rounding out the top five. In the USTFCCCA poll, Arkansas is second followed by LSU, Texas and UTEP. The listing is voted on by a panel of 38 college coaches representing each region of the nation. The USTFCCCA poll doesn’t publish ranking points.

Trackwire bases its rankings on projected scoring at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Dandy Dozen ranks the top 12 competitors in each event contested at the NCAA Championships.

Arkansas has six entries in this week’s edition of the Dandy Dozen. Junior Peter Kosgei and senior Josphat Boit lead the way with rankings in two events. Kosgei is ranked No. 1 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while holding down the No. 4 spot in the 10,000-meter run listing. Boit is ranked second nationally in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

Senior Eric Brown remains the nation’s top-ranked athlete in the javelin. Brown won the javelin championship at the Texas Relays last weekend. It was the second time in three years the Baldwin City, Kan., native won the event in Austin.

Freshman Nkosinza Balumbu is ranked No. 2 in this week’s triple jump rankings. Balumbu finished sixth in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoors in March.

Arkansas will travel to the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., this weekend before competing at the Penn Relays the following weekend. The Razorbacks host the 2006 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the new John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville on May 11-14. Tickets for the conference championships are on sale now at www.hogwired.com or by calling 1-800-982-HOGS.

(See Complete polls below)