FAYETTEVILLE – Texas A&M’s first road trip of the indoor track and field season has them competing in a very competitive Razorback Invitational this Friday and Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
The Aggies, with the women ranked No. 3 and the men at No. 4, take on a nationally ranked field of teams in the scored meet. Schools competing in the Razorback Invitational include Arkansas (men No. 3, women No. 5), Florida (men No. 2, women No. 1), Florida State (men No. 15, women No. 11), Iowa State (men No. 23), Kansas, LSU (men No. 9), Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (men No. 16, women No. 13), Purdue (men No. 20), Stanford (men No. 7, women No. 10), Texas (men No. 10, women No. 7) and Tulsa.
Coverage of the meet will be available on SEC Network + through the Watch ESPN app. Links for the webcast are Friday (5 p.m. start) – http://es.pn/1xXcS7a, Saturday (noon start) – http://es.pn/1CB6C9z. Start list and live results are available here:http://flashresults.com/2015_Meets/Indoor/01-30_Razorback/index.htm.
Various events in the Razorback Invitational have a defending NCAA champion or multiple returning finalists from last year’s NCAA Indoor meet.
Bowerman Award winner Deon Lendore will be part of A&M’s 4×400 unit, which will be in the same section as Arkansas, Notre Dame and Purdue. The Aggies set a collegiate record indoors last season in winning the SEC title while the Razorbacks finished third at the NCAA Indoor and the Irish were eighth.
A pair of Aggies, Shavez Hart and Bralon Taplin, enter the weekend with world-leading times in the 200 and 400 meters. Hart ran 20.76 in the 200 a couple of weeks ago while Taplin posted a 45.74 in the 400 this last weekend after clocking 20.80 in his opening race. Both sprinters earned SEC Runner of the Week honors for their endeavors.
Hart will contest the 60 and 200 at Arkansas while Taplin is scheduled to race at 200 meters. In the 200 the field includes a strong trio in LSU’s Aaron Ernest, Tulsa’s Bryce Robinson and Raheem Mostert of Purdue. A&M’s Devin Jenkins joins Hart in the 60 along with Oklahoma State’s John Teeters, who shares the nation’s lead with a 6.54 this season.
The women’s 200 will have Aggies Kamaria Brown, Olivia Ekponé, Shamier Little and Ashton Purvis racing in a field that includes Kyra Jefferson, Destinee Gause and Robin Reynolds of Florida as well as Jada Martin of LSU.
Brown, who posted a 52.96 in the 400 last week, is the top returning 200m runner this season with a 22.50 set last season. The race includes a trio of NCAA Indoor finalists from 2014 with Jefferson (second), Purvis (fourth), and Gause (fifth).
Ekponé and Purvis will also contest the 60 meters with teammates Aaliyah Brown and Jennifer Madu. Leading the entries in the 60 is Florida’s Shayla Sanders, who ran 7.20 in 2014 on the way to a sixth place finish in the NCAA Indoor final. Madu, Ekponé and A. Brown were eighth, ninth and 10th in the 2014 NCAA Indoor.
In the men’s pole vault A&M’s Chase Wolfle squares off against former NCAA champion Andrew Irwin of Arkansas. The women’s vault is headlined by Sandi Morris of Arkansas, who held the collegiate record of 15-1.5 for a day earlier this month, while the Aggies enter the trio of Brittany Wooten, Sara Kathryn Stevens and Emily Gunderson.
Brea Garrett, the defending NCAA weight throw champion, will get to experience the new throwing venue at Arkansas that will be used during the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. She will also contest the shot put this weekend where LSU’s Tori Bliss (57-4.75) in the top entrant and current collegiate leader.
The men’s weight throw features Purdue’s Chukwuebuka Enekwech, who has produced a mark of 78-10.5 this season and placed third at the 2014 NCAA Indoor, with A&M’s Austin Cook the only other thrower over 66 feet.
Challengers in the long jump for Aggie Olabanji Asekun include defending NCAA Indoor champion Jarrion Lawson of Arkansas and Florida’s Marquis Dendy, the defending NCAA Outdoor champ.
Over 800 meters Josh and Hector Hernandez get a preview of the SEC meet as they race against Patrick Rono of Arkansas, the NCAA Indoor bronze medalist in 2014, along with the Florida duo of Ryan Schnulle, who placed fifth in the NCAA Indoor final, and Andres Arroyo.
Grace Fletcher and Hillary Montgomery race in the mile while Karis Jochen competes in the 3,000 meters. Cameron Villarreal moves up to the 3,000 meters this weekend after winning races at 800 and the mile the past two weeks.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics