FAYYETTEVILLE -- College track and field's best will be at the Randal Tyson Track Center over the next two days competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
The University of Arkansas will host the meet for the 12th time, and it enters with the top-ranked women's team coming off a record rout at the SEC Indoor Championships, while No. 1 Florida is the favorite on the men's side.
NCAA Indoors
WHEN Today-Saturday
WHERE Randal Tyson Track Center, Fayetteville
SCHEDULE Field events start at 4 p.m. today with running events at 6 p.m. Field events start at 3:30 p.m. Saturday with running events at 6 p.m. The heptathlon starts at 10 a.m. today and 10:45 a.m. Saturday. The pentathlon starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
MEN’S DEFENDING CHAMPION Oregon
WOMEN’S DEFENDING CHAMPION Oregon
MEN’S CONTENDERS No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M
WOMEN’S CONTENDERS No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Georgia
TICKETS $30
Field events start at 4 p.m. and running events begin at 6 p.m. The heptathlon opens the meet with a 10 a.m. start.
The SEC holds down the top four spots on the women's side, with Florida, Kentucky and Georgia expected to challenge the Razorbacks, followed by No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Oregon.
Defending NCAA Indoor champion Oregon and Texas are expected to factor in on the men's side too, along with SEC heavyweights Florida, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Georgia.
Arkansas women's Coach Lance Harter, aiming for his first NCAA title after finishing third here in 2013, has tried to put together a roster than can break Oregon's five-year run of NCAA titles. The Razorbacks have an NCAA-best 15 entries in 10 events.
"If you can get in the 50- to 55-point range, that's probably what a winning score could possibly be," Harter said. "There's a lot more parity these days so the points are spread out among probably 20-25 teams.
"We're excited in the respect we have multiple angles to attack from."
Oregon, led by Jenna Prandini and Jasmine Todd in the 60 meters and long jump, has 12 entries on the women's side. Prandini also is qualified in the 200 meters. Florida also has 12 entrants spread across a wide array of events.
The Razorbacks women's team won the SEC Indoors in Lexington, Ky., two weeks ago by a record 44-point margin over Florida, and they are No. 1 by a substantial margin.
"We don't feel like we have a target on our backs," said Dominique Scott, the SEC's 3,000 meter and mile run champion. "It's more like we feel the rankings are correct."
Scott has a qualifying time of 8:52.57 in the 3,000, joining Providence's Emily Sisson (8:52.60) as the only sub 9-minute runners in the field.
The Razorbacks' Chrishuna Williams won the 800 meters at the SEC meet and her qualifying time of 2:02.95 is second to Clemson's Natoya Goule (2:02.78).
The women's pole vault features an intriguing matchup between Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin, the NCAA Indoor record holder (15-7), and Arkansas' Sandi Morris, who held the record at 15-1 1/2 for a day in January. Payne vaulted 15-2 1/4 the day after Morris' record clearance and has improved that height twice since.
Morris will be joined by teammates Desiree Freier and Ariel Voskamp in the pole vault.
Tamara Myers, set to compete in the long jump and triple jump, is Arkansas' lone double qualifier on the women's side.
The Razorback men won their 20th indoor title in 2013 the last time the NCAA meet was held at the Tyson Center, and Coach Chris Bucknam believes his team has a chance to get back atop the awards stand this weekend.
"If we can get the 55 points we have figured right here, that's a hell of a meet," Bucknam said. "Florida is pretty good, no question about it. But the $64,000 question is how good are you going to be this weekend?"
Arkansas has the third-most entries among the men with 10 qualifiers in nine events, trailing Oregon (13) and Florida (11).
The Ducks have five runners entered in the 3,000 meters. Eric Jenkins, Parker Stinson and Will Geoghegan plan to double in the 3,000 and 5,000 and Edward Cheserek is qualified in the mile, the distance medley relay and the 3,000.
"Ever since I became head coach that's been the one, singular focus, no matter what," Oregon Coach Robert Johnson said of the Ducks' national championship aspirations.
The Razorbacks need big performances from pole vaulter Andrew Irwin, 60-meter hurdler Omar McLeod, long jumper Jarrion Lawson and distance runners Kemoy Campbell and Stanley Kebenei to have a shot.
McLeod, the SEC runner of the year, tied the second-fastest time in NCAA history by winning the 60-meter hurdles in 7.49 two weeks ago. The defending NCAA indoor champion, he also runs a leg on Arkansas' 1,600-meter relay team along with Lawson, Kenzo Cotton and Marqueze Washington, who is also qualified in the 400 meters.
Irwin, the two-time defending indoor champion, has the second-best qualifying height behind Akron's Shawn Barber.
Lawson has the best qualifying mark in the long jump, but he lost to Florida's Marquis Dendy at the SEC championships.
Campbell is a double entry in the 5,000 and 3,000 meters. He'll be joined by Kebenei in the 3,000 meters, the penultimate event before the 1,600 relay Saturday night.
"I hope it's a dogfight, because that means we're going to be in it," Bucknam said. "Obviously Florida and Oregon are the teams to beat and we're kind of lurking in the weeds."
Sports on 03/13/2015