FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas men’s and women’s track and field teams, which swept SEC indoor titles last weekend at home, have a combined 24 entries in 15 events for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 10-11 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Arkansas’ No. 1-ranked men’s team has 13 entries to share the lead with No. 2 Washington. Florida, ranked No. 3, has 11 entries.
The Arkansas men have entries in nine events, led by freshman Jaydon Hibbert in the triple jump. Hibbert is the national leader after winning the SEC title with a mark of 56 feet, 13/4 inches.
The Razorbacks have the nation’s top time in the 1,600-meter relay at 3 minutes, 1.53 seconds run by sophomore Connor Washington, senior James Benson, junior Ayden Owens-Delerme and senior Chris Bailey in Albuquerque on Feb. 3 at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic.
Owens-Delerme will also compete in the heptathlon at the NCAA meet, so he’ll need to be replaced on the relay at nationals.
Owens-Delerme won the SEC heptathlon title with a meet record 6,237 points. He ranks second nationally behind Georgia senior Kyle Garland, who scored 6,415 points at a meet at Texas Tech on Jan. 26 and didn’t compete in the heptathlon at the SEC meet.
At last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, Owens-Delerme won the heptathlon with 6,211 points to edge Garland, who was second with 6,200
Bailey’s Arkansas school record of 45.09 ranks third nationally in the 400.
Razorbacks sophomore Wayne Pinnock, the defending NCAA champion in the long jump, ranks second nationally (27-31/2) and senior Carey McLeod ranks fourth (26-101/2). McLeod ranks ninth in the triple jump (53-9).
In the shot put, Arkansas senior Jordan West ranks fifth (66-7) and junior Roje Stona is 11th (65-6). Junior Lance Lang is seventh in the 200 (20.50), junior Yariel Soto Torrado is 11th in the heptathlon (5,885 points) and sophomore Patrick Kiprop 13th in the 5,000 (13:24.32).
The Razorbacks’ distance medley relay of sophomore Ben Shearer, Benson, junior Leroy Russell and freshman Elias Schreml ranks ninth in 9:22.13.
Arkansas’ No. 3 women’s team has 11 entries in six events, led by its 1,600-meter relay, which has the nation’s top time of 3:26.40 run by juniors Amber Anning and Nickisha Pryce, senior Paris Peoples and junior Rosey Effiong.
Anning has the nation’s third-best time in the 400 (50.68) with Effiong fourth (51.02) and Arkansas sophomore Britton Wilson sixth (51.48).
Wilson could run on the 1,600 relay at the NCAA meet, as she did in anchoring Arkansas to the SEC title. Pryce, Peoples and sophomore Joanne Reid also are in the 400 field.
Razorbacks senior Lauren Gregory, who won the mile and 3,000 at the SEC meet, will run the mile at nationals and ranks eighth (4:31.88). She also figures to anchor the distance medley relay team.