School record, five event titles lead to meet win
By: UA Sports Information
Updated: January 26, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - On the final day of competition at the Razorback Team Invitational, the No. 1 University of Arkansas men's track and field team posted a school record and five event wins on their way to finishing first in the team standings. The Razorbacks finished the two-day invitational with 124 points and six total wins, including Friday's win by Andrew Irwin in the pole vault.
"First and foremost, we won the meet," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "We put a
lot of points up on the board. I think it shows a bit about the amount of talent
we have on the team and the depth we have. This was a great group of programs
here so to put that many points on the board, I'm very pleased with that
especially at the end of a tough three-week run for us to start the season. I'm
happy with the total result."
Arkansas' wins Saturday came from Akheem Gauntlett at 400 meters, Patrick Rono
at 800 meters, Caleb Cross in the 60-meter hurdles, Tarik Batchelor in the
triple jump and Kevin Lazas in the heptathlon. Lazas also broke the school
record with his two-day performance.
Entering the day with a 192-point lead over the field, Lazas extended his lead
throughout the day and finished the two-day, seven-event competition with a
school-record 6,042 points. His score also represents the best mark in the NCAA
this season. Lazas surpassed the school record of 6,022 points set last year at
this meet by teammate Gunnar Nixon. With his performance this weekend, Lazas
became just the eighth collegiate heptathlete to top 6,000 points and is now No.
6 on the all-time collegiate performer list.
"I'm
definitely happy," Lazas said. "For this to be the first (heptathlon) of the
year, there's nothing more you can ask for. I wanted to get a score that would
get me into the national meet. I did that and the school record came with it so
overall, I'm really happy. I know there is more in the tank to save for bigger
scores in the bigger meets."
The
Razorbacks placed four inside the top 11 of the 400 meters, led by event winner
Gauntlett. Running in the final section, he raced out to a time of 46.44 which
is the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season based on times entering the
weekend. He was joined in the top 11 by Neil Braddy (47.39) in eighth place,
Eric Janise (47.39) in ninth and Anton Kokorin (47.46) in 11th.
Cross was the third overall qualifier during the semifinal round of the 60-meter
hurdles. He finished second in his heat with a time of 7.83 to advance to the
championship race. In the event final, the Newport, Ark., out-leaned Eddie
Lovett of Florida to win the event with a season-best time of 7.69, just .01
ahead of his SEC counterpart. Cross' time is now the third-best effort in the
NCAA this year.
The
middle-distance crew was led by a first-place performance from Rono in the
invitational section of the 800 meters. His winning time of 1:48.98 is a season
best for the Razorback sophomore and is currently ranked fourth in the country.
Rono was one of three scorers in the event for Arkansas to go along with Ryan
Thomas at 1:49.48 in third place and Tomas Squella at 1:50.77 in
eighth.
In
his second triple jump competition of the season, Batchelor posted a win
Saturday with a winning mark of 16.37m/53-8.5. Having safely qualified for the
final round of jumps, the Razorback senior posted his first-place measurement in
his fifth jump of the day. Batchelor had the two best jumps in the field as his
last jump of the day--16.32m/53-6.5--would have placed second
overall.
The
Razorbacks capped their weekend with a second-place finish in the 4x400-meter
relay. The foursome of Braddy, Gauntlett, Kokorin and Travis Southard combined
for a season-best time of 3:06.26, the fifth-fastest relay showing in program
history. Arkansas' time is also the fourth fastest in the NCAA this season. The
top three times in the country all reside within the
SEC.
Arkansas returns to action next weekend with a trip to New York for the Armory
Collegiate Invitational. For more information regarding Razorback track and
field or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Fans can also keep up with Arkansas cross country and track and field through
the team's sport-specific RazorbackTF Facebook and Twitter
pages.
Saturday
Results
Team
Standings
1. No. 1 Arkansas
124
2. No. 3 Florida
79.5
3. Nebraska
70
4. Georgia
63
5. No. 11 Texas
58.5
6. Baylor
56
6. No. 6 LSU
56
8. No. 21 Florida State
45
9. Oklahoma State
37
9. Oklahoma
37
11. No. 13 Arizona
31
Individual
Events
400 Meters
1. Akheem Gauntlett - 46.44 [10
points]
8. Neil Braddy - 47.39 [1
point]
9. Eric Janise - 47.39
(PR)
11. Anton Kokorin - 47.46
(PR)
27. Marek Niit - 48.58
35. David Wren - 49.59
(PR)
--. Hunter Bourke - DNS
800 Meters
(Invitational)
1. Patrick Rono - 1:48.98 [10
points]
3. Ryan Thomas - 1:49.48 (PR) [6
points]
8. Tomas Squella - 1:50.77 [1
point]
10. Anthony Lieghio -
1:50.95
12. Andrew Pisechko -
1:51.73
17. Leoman Momoh -
1:58.09
--. David Wren - DNF
--. Drew Butler - DNS
800 Meters
4. Cameron Efurd -
1:52.39
Mile (Invitational)
7. Kemoy Campbell - 4:00.98 [2
points]
9. Cale Wallace - 4:06.96
(PR)
Mile
16. David Flynn -
4:19.13
3,000 Meters
(Invitational)
4. Stanley Kebenei - 8:00.74 [5
points]
7. Solomon Haile - 8:02.38 [2
points]
3,000 Meters
19. Raymond Joseph -
8:31.83
20. Layne Nixon -
8:32.28
60m Hurdles (final)
1. Caleb Cross - 7.69 [10
points]
60m Hurdles
(semifinal)
3. Caleb Cross - 7.83Q
4x400m Relay
2. Gauntlett/Kokorin/Southard/Braddy - 3:06.26 [8
points]
Triple Jump
1. Tarik Batchelor - 16.37m/53-8.5 [10
points]
7. Raymond Higgs - 15.40m/50-6.25 (PR) [2
points]
--. Jarrion Lawson - DNS
--. Anthony May II - DNS
Weight Throw
9. Devin Randall -
16.48m/54-1
14. Deatrich Wise, Jr. -
14.33m/47-0.25
Heptathlon (Day 2)
1. Kevin Lazas - 6,042 points [SR] [10
points]
4. 60m hurdles - 8.38 [888
points]
1. Pole vault - 5.11m/16-9.25 [944
points]
2. 1,000 meters - 2:47.10 [796
points]
5. Julius Sommer - 5,229 points [4
points]
6. 60m hurdles - 8.51 (PR) [858
points]
4. Pole vault - 4.51m/14-9.5 (PR) [763
points]
6. 1,000 meters - 2:53.13 [733
points]
--. Matt Kirbos - DNF
Q - qualified for next round; PR - personal
best
