Hog Calls

Throwers add to talented Arkansas track teams

Jordan West of Arkansas throws during the Mt. Sac Relays on Saturday, April 15, 2023, in Walnut, Calif.

FAYETTEVILLE — SEC men’s track and field teams became ruefully accustomed to Razorbacks running past them and jumping beyond them.

Surely it threw them that Arkansas also tossed them at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Seems they again could fall in the throes of Arkansas throws as the Razorbacks defend their SEC outdoor title May 11-13 in Baton Rouge.

Not since the Southwest Conference portion of the late head coach John McDonnell and field events coach Dick Booth era have Razorbacks weightmen impacted like 1980s All-Americans Scott Lofquist and Marty Kobza.

Championships still rolled right through McDonnell’s 2008 retirement and since under Chris Bucknam and assistants Doug Case and Travis Geopfert.

Geopfert from 2018-21 coached Tennessee’s field events while John Newell coached Tennessee’s throwers.

Following Geopfert’s 2022 Arkansas return, he and Bucknam enticed Newell upon Tennessee’s 2023 head coaching change.

Jordan West, the 2022 SEC shot-put champion and All-American, accompanied Newell from Tennessee.

Discus All-Americans Roje Stona via Clemson and Malford Mullings via Arizona State transferred, too.

At the SEC Indoor, West’s broke Lofquist’s 1982 school shot-put record with a second-place 66 feet, 7 inches. Stona (65-6) placed third and Mullings (61-7) was seventh. They totaled 16 of Arkansas’ 100.25 points at the SEC meet.

At the NCAA Indoor, West’s All-American fifth-place finish cinched Bucknam’s second national championship before the victorious 1,600-meter relay closed a 23-point margin of victory.

Outdoors last week in California, Stona (211-4) and Mullings (205-6) eclipsed Lofquist’s 41-year school discus record of 205-4.

At Friday’s annual John McDonnell Invitational, Mullings’ 199-2 broke the meet’s discus record. Stona’s 65-10 broke the meet’s shot-put record.

Since yielding his decathletes’ throws to Newell rather than coaching all 10 decathlon events, Geopfert said reigning NCAA Outdoor champion Ayden Owens-Delerme, Yariel Soto Torrado and Daniel Spejcher have bests in the shot, discus and javelin.

Bucknam beams.

“Coach Newell — he’s world class,” Bucknam said.

Newell reciprocates the respect.

“I wanted to see what the differences are in the cultures between a team like Arkansas, a staff like Arkansas, facilities like Arkansas and everybody else,” Newell said. “Arkansas had the best of everything. I wanted the opportunity to help a team win conference and national titles.”

From experience, Geopfert knows Arkansas’ awesome track and field history renders record-breaking Razorbacks an honor for all.

Now Newell joins Arkansas' records coaching club.

“Breaking records at Arkansas for anybody in any event is an extremely big deal,” Geopfert said. “For any athlete or any coach it’s a rewarding experience.”

Especially rewarding winning team SEC and NCAA championships.

“It’s a joyful moment winning a national championship team trophy,” Stona said.

They aim for another outdoors. Arkansas ranks nationally No. 1.

“To actually win indoors and be in a good position to win outdoors is something new to me,” West said. “I’m just happy to be here.”

So is the coach who accompanied him.