Razorbacks Take On USA Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Current and former members of the Arkansas track and field team will be competing at the AT&T USA Championships, June 20-24, in Indianapolis, Ind., at the Michael A. Carroll Track & Soccer Stadium.

Current Hogs Nkosinza Balumbu and J-Mee Samuels will end their collegiate outdoor seasons at the event this weekend.

Three-time SEC Champion Balumbu, in the triple jump, and SEC runner-up Samuels, in the 100 meters, both earned All-America honors at the 2007 NCAA Championships earlier this month.

After finishing sixth at the NCAA Championships, Balumbu enters the event with the 12th-best triple jump seed mark, 53-1.5. Samuels, the 11th-place finisher at the NCAA Championships, with season-best time of 10.13, ranks 13th on the descending order list.

Former Hogs Wallace Spearmon Jr., Tyson Gay, Daniel Lincoln, Eric Brown, Said Ahmed and Seth Summerside will also be competing.

Both Gay and Spearmon will be competing in the 100 and 200 meters. Gay holds top ranks in the 100 meters with his time of 9.84. His season- and personal-best time of 9.76, run at the Reebok Grand Prix on June 2, would have matched the world record had it not been wind-aided 2.2.

In Sept., 2006, Gay clocked a 200-meter time of 19.68, finishing the year tied with Frank Fredericks as the fifth-fastest man in history in the event.

The 2005 World Championships silver medalist, Spearmon is the defending U.S. champion and reigning World Cup champion in the 200 meters and holds the second-best seed time in the event (19.65). His season-best time in the 100 meters is a wind-aided 10.05.

Four of the six fastest ever all-time in the 200 meters will be competing in the event at this season’s USA Championships – former LSU phenom Xavier Carter ( No. 2), Spearmon (No. 3), Gay (No. 5) and 2007 NCAA Champion Walter Dix of Florida State (No. 6).

American record holder Lincoln leads the 3,000-meter steeplechase pack with a time of 8:08.82. A three-time U.S. champion and a three-time NCAA champion, Lincoln eclipsed the 21-year old American record of 8:09.17, set on Aug. 28, 1985, by National Track & Field Hall of Famer Henry Marsh.

With his No. 8 world ranking following the 2006 season, Lincoln became the first top-ten world ranked American steeplechaser since Mark Croghan was ranked No. 4 in 1994.

Brown holds the No. 9 spot on the javelin descending order list with his throw of 241-10. The school-record holder with a 256-3, Brown was the 2006 NCAA runner-up, a three-time All-American, the 2006 SEC Champion and a two-time NCAA Mideast Regional Champion during his tenure as a Razorback.

Four-time All-American and three-time SEC champion Ahmed holds the second-fastest seed time in the 1,500 meters at 3:35.94. Ranked No. 4 in the U.S. in the 1,500 meters in 2006, he was also a 1,500-meter finalist at the USA Championships in 2004.

Summerside holds the 10th-best 5,000-meter seed time at 13:30.07. Summerside was a two-time All-American in the 5,000 meters and cross country during his time as a Razorback.

For complete details, a schedule and live results, visit www.usatf.org.