Posted: April 5, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas Debuts at No. 1 in Outdoor Rankings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With the 2005 outdoor track and field season ready to kick into full gear this weekend at the Texas Relays, Trackwire released its first outdoor top-25 team rankings for the season and the Razorbacks were found at the No. 1 position with 85 points. Arkansas holds a substantial lead as it enters the year as the defending NCAA outdoor champions and will look to capture the program’s 41st national title. “It’s a nice honor and reinforces the team what I’ve been telling them all along,” Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. “We’re definitely contenders for the title, but we have to stay healthy if we want to be a good team.”

Southeastern Conference opponent Florida was in a distant second with 62 points. Arizona is in third with 42 points, while Arizona State grabbed No. 4 with 32 points. Indiana tallied 31 points for fifth place and LSU is close behind with 30 at No. 6.

Oregon and Texas are tied in seventh place with 26 points apiece. Nebraska gained the ninth spot with 25 points and Wisconsin rounded out the top 10 with 24. Other SEC teams found in the top 25 included Mississippi State at No. 14, Auburn at No. 16 and South Carolina at No. 24.

Arkansas’ predicted 85 points were made possible by the high number of athletes it has listed in Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen. Eleven Razorbacks and two UA relay teams were ranked among the nation’s top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.

Arkansas sprinting stars senior Tyson Gay and sophomore Wallace Spearmon Jr., were both selected to successfully defend their individual titles in the 100 and 200 meters, respectively. Gay and junior Omar Brown were also listed in the 200 meters at No. 3 and No. 8. Senior Terry Gatson is ranked fifth in the 400 meters.

The same group will more than likely help make up UA’s 4x100-meter relay team that was placed at No. 4 and the 4x400-meter relay that can be found in eighth place.

The Razorback outstanding distance duo of junior Josphat Boit and sophomore Peter Kosgei can be found at the top of their respective events. Boit is No. 1 in the 10,000 meters and sixth in the 5,000, while Kosgei is No. 1 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and second in the 10K. Senior Jason Sandfort is also listed in the 10,000 meters at No. 11.

After posting a second-place finish at the indoor national meet, senior James Hatch is ranked sixth in the 800 meters. In the 1,500 meters senior Said Ahmed is seventh.

In the field events senior Jaanus Uudmae is fifth in the triple jump, while junior Eric Brown is second in the javelin.

Complete Rankings:
1. Arkansas                     85
2. Florida                         62
3. Arizona                        42
4. Arizona State            32
5. Indiana                        31
6. LSU                             30
7. Oregon                        26
     Texas                          26
9. Nebraska                      25
10. Wisconsin               24
11. Boise State            23
12. Stanford                     22
13. Michigan                    18
14. Florida State            17
       Mississippi State  17
16. Auburn                       16
       Virginia Tech             16
18. BYU                           15
       Texas Tech             15
20. Colorado State            14
21. Oklahoma               12
       Baylor                       12
       North Carolina                  12
24. South Carolina                  10
       Texas A&M             10
       New Mexico                   10