FAYETTEVILLE -- Kemoy Campbell's comeback for the Arkansas track and field team got off to a nice start Friday night at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Campbell, a senior who redshirted the indoor and outdoor seasons last year because of a strained Achilles tendon in his right foot, won the 1,000 meters in 2:24.63 and ran the anchor 1,600 leg on the winning distance medley relay team to help the No. 3 Razorbacks beat No. 8 Texas 94 1/2 points to 74 1/2 in a dual meet before an announced crowd of 1,479.
"This is what I've been training for all these months," Campbell said. "So when I came back, I could start fast."
Arkansas improved to 6-0 in dual meets against Texas since the teams began competing in 2010.
"It's good to beat a quality team like Texas," said Chris Bucknam, the Arkansas men's coach. "We've got a long way to go and we have a lot of work to do, but we showed some really good signs."
The Razorbacks' No. 7 women's team made it an Arkansas sweep over No. 5 Texas for the second consecutive year, winning 96-72 as senior Sandi Morris set the college record in the pole vault, clearing 15-1 1/2 on her third attempt.
"We're elated to win the meet," said Lance Harter, the Razorbacks women's coach. "We had great performances all across the board to make it happen."
Campbell competed in a race as an official entrant for the first time since last January, when he was injured and Bucknam made the decision to redshirt him.
Bucknam had Campbell -- an All-American with top-five NCAA finishes in cross country, indoor and outdoor track at distances ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 meters -- run the 1,000 Friday night as a way of easing him back into racing.
"That's a great performance by Kemoy this early in the year with the heavy workload we're doing in practice every day," Bucknam said. "He looked smooth, he looked strong. It's just great to see him back on the track and racing again."
Campbell regained the lead from senior teammate Patrick Rono in the final meters to win the 1,000 by one-hundreth of a second.
"I've come back hungrier than ever," Campbell said. "I think that's going to give me an edge over most of my opponents."
Rono said he'd like to see a photo of the finish because he thought he had won the 1,000, but he was happy for Campbell.
"It's amazing to see Kemoy back," Rono said. "He's one of the most talented runners in the country, and he's going to help us kick some butt."
Arkansas junior Jarrion Lawson, last year's NCAA indoor long jump champion, won the long jump (24-9 3/4) and took second in the 200 (21.18). Sophomore Omar McLeod, who won NCAA indoor 60-meter hurdles title last year, won the 60 hurdles (7.76) and 60 meters (6.71) Friday night.
McLeod and Lawson also ran legs along with freshman Jamarco Stephen and junior Marqueze Washington on the 1,500-meter relay, which won in 3:14.55
Andrew Irwin, an Arkansas senior from Mount Ida who has won two NCAA indoor pole vault titles, cleared 17-9 1/4 Friday night to win the event.
"We didn't push any of our kids' buttons," Bucknam said. "We said just go out there and compete, and let's build toward the rest of the season."
Sports on 01/17/2015