Hog Calls

Allen: Razorbacks have been here before

Arkansas track coach Chris Bucknam reacts during the men's distance medley relay during the National Relay Championships on Saturday, April 28, 2018, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — To win the SEC Indoor Men’s Track and Field Championships Arkansas Coach Chris Bucknam doesn’t ask his Razorbacks to do what they’ve never done before.

He doesn’t ask that just because his Razorbacks have done it before. They won the 2020 SEC Indoor.

So along with Coach Lance Harter’s Razorbacks women they reign defending champions of the SEC Indoor that Arkansas’ men’s and women’s teams host Thursday through Saturday at Randal Tyson Indoor Track.

Bucknam asks the Razorbacks doing what they did before because they’ve risen to the occasion highly qualifying for the SEC and next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships here.

“The key to this whole meet, is to do what got you there and then let the chips fall where they may after that,” Bucknam asserted.

What has gotten Bucknam’s men into the SEC variously has ranked them No. 1, 2 or 3 in the country. Currently it’s No. 3 behind Oregon of the Pac 12 and the SEC’s LSU. Arkansas ranked ahead of LSU at No. 2 until inexplicably falling to No. 3 though all SEC teams were idle last week resting for this week’s SEC Championships.

“We feel good,” Bucknam said. “But we know it’s going to be a tremendously competitive meet across the board. LSU and us have been going back and forth in the national rankings. We know LSU is really good and going to give us a run for our money. And because of their distance strength, Ole Miss is right up there as well.”

Ole Miss likely doesn’t have the overall depth to win it but in taking the top three individual places as the 2020 SEC Cross Country runner-up to Arkansas could cut into Arkansas’ track distance cushion which would help LSU.

Arkansas has outpointed LSU in scored meets this indoor season.

Team scores for pre Conference meets don’t impact like competing for team points determining team championships at Conference and Nationals.

Nevertheless they do carry some significance. Especially given the competition Arkansas has faced hosting four meets with the nation’s best craving acquaintance with Arkansas’ facilities before the NCAA meet March 11-13 at Randal Tyson.

“We just came out of five scored meets,” Bucknam said. “And even though they aren’t meets you line up your best people every week we still won four of those five meets. It does tell a story. We have beaten a lot of good teams this indoor season so that helps our mojo. We’ve got a good team.”

The SEC, with five teams in the national top 10 and nine in the top 20, abounds with good teams that could affect the projected Arkansas vs. LSU supremacy otherwise affected directly.

“Out of the 16 events we match up maybe six or seven head to head with them,” Bucknam said.

Distance men Amon Kemboi, Gilbert Boit, Andrew Kibet and Matt Young, heptathletes Markus Ballengee, Etamar Bhastekar and Daniel Spejcher, long jumpers Ryan Brown and Jonathan Baker, hurdler Phillip Lemonious and sprinters Roman Turner and Kris Hari bear Hogs’ high hopes.