FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas managed to find a way to beat Florida at the SEC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26. Now the Razorbacks have to figure out how to do it again.
The second-ranked Razorbacks will try to knock off two-time defending national champion and No. 1 Florida at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which begin today in Nampa, Idaho.
The men have eight individuals and two relay teams in the national meet. The No. 2 women Razorbacks have the same entries with eight individuals and two relay teams.
Arkansas’ men were the No. 1 team nationally for most of the year until they beat Florida 151-137 at the SEC meet in Nashville, Ken. The Gators took over the top spot because of their big-point scorers, which is a more critical factor than depth at a national meet.
The Razorbacks enter nationals with top qualifiers in freshman Gunnar Nixon in the heptathlon, freshman Andrew Irwin in the pole vault and the 1,600-meter relay team. Nixon, who set the junior world record with 6,022 points earlier this year, finished second to Florida’s Gray Horn at conference.
Nixon’s duel against Horn is just one of a handful of events where Arkansas can do its own work against Florida.
“There are a few key events that we go head-tohead in,” Arkansas Coach Chris Bucknam said. “Those matchups are really important. You have to take care of business. From a matchup standpoint, we have to do well.”
Arkansas boosted its chances at its first indoor national title since 2006 when it added two late qualifiers in the distance medley relay and Noah Kittelson in the high jump. Other than their three No. 1 qualifiers, the Razorbacks’ top national qualifier is Kevin Lazas, who is fourth in the heptathlon.
Bucknam said those rankings don’t matter at nationals, where anyone in can score. That makes today’s qualifying rounds critical to the team’s chances Saturday.
“[Today] is a big deal for us,” Bucknam said. “There’s a lot going on. There’s no meet on Saturday right now. For us, it’s all about [today].”
Bucknam, who isn’t a big proponent on premeet predictions, especially publicly, said he believes 50 team points would put any team in contention. Bucknam said teams such as No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 LSU couldn’t be counted out, especially if Florida or Arkansas has some slips.
“Fifty points seems to be the magic number,” Bucknam said. “Florida could run away with it. We’re all worried about the same things, getting our kids to the finals.”
The Razorbacks’ women’s team faces the same type of challenge the men’s team does. No. 1 Oregon is the defending champion and has a host of top performers that Arkansas will have to try to whittle away at.
The Razorbacks have their own big-point scorer in senior pole vaulter Tina Sutej, the reigning indoor champion and the holder of the college record both indoors and outdoors.
Arkansas also has eight entries who have national marks between fourth- and eighth-best. For the Razorbacks to make a push for their first national title, those middle-of-the-scoring pack women need to become top-three finishers.
All of the Razorbacks’ national qualifiers have competed at a national meet before, so that experience may come in handy.
“Points are very, very hard to come by so every one of those opportunities gives us a chance to get on the scoreboard,” women’s Coach Lance Harter said. “You want as many bullets as you can possibly fire, and you want as much experience as you can have. We have both those this year.
“It’s a perfect combination.”
NCAA Indoors
WHEN Today-Saturday WHERE Jacksons Indoor Track, Nampa, Idaho DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Men: Florida. Women: Oregon TOP CONTENDERS Men: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 LSU. Women: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Clemson.
Sports, Pages 26 on 03/09/2012