Posted: April 20, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas Maintains Lead in No. 1 Position

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the third-straight week the Arkansas track and field team received the top national ranking as the Trackwire 25 were released on Tuesday. The Razorbacks tallied 73 points, maintaining a 13-point lead over second-place Florida (60). Arizona is third with 44 and LSU is fourth with 42 points.

Stanford picked up 34 points for the No. 5 position and USC is at No. 6 with 30. Arizona State was given 29 points for seventh, while Indiana is close behind with 28 in eighth. Oregon was placed at No. 9 with 24 points and Florida State rounded out the top 10 with 22.

Other Southeastern Conference teams found in the top 25 include Mississippi State at No. 11 (21), Auburn is tied in 15th (17) and Georgia is No. 22 (13).

Arkansas’ predicted 73 points were made possible by the high number of athletes it has listed in Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen. Ten 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 All-American Omar Brown were also listed in the 200 meters at No. 3 and No. 8. National indoor runner-up senior Terry Gatson can be found at sixth in the 400 meters.

The same group will more than likely help make up UA’s 4x400-meter relay that is in fifth place and the 4x100-meter relay team that was placed at No. 7.

Junior All-American Josphat Boit can be found at the top of the 10,000 meters and sophomore All-American Peter Kosgei is on Boit’s heels at No. 2 in the event. The distance duo currently holds the top two times in the NCAA. Boit is also listed eighth in the 5,000 meters, while Kosgei is third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

In the middle distances senior All-American James Hatch is ranked 10th in the 800 meters and in the 1,500 meters senior All-American Said Ahmed is ninth.

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

Arkansas fans will get to see these athletes in action when the Hogs host their only outdoor meet of the season. The John McDonnell Invitational will take place on Saturday, April 23. The hammer throw will start off the field events at 10 a.m., and the running events will begin with the unseeded section of the 3,000 meters at 1:15 p.m.

 Complete Trackwire 25:
1. Arkansas           73
2. Florida               60
3. Arizona              44
4. LSU                    42
5. Stanford             34
6. USC                             30
7. Arizona State      29
8. Indiana               28
9. Oregon               24
10. Florida State     22
11. Mississippi State 21
12. Texas               20
13. Boise State       18
      Michigan          18
15. Wisconsin         17
      Auburn             17
17. BYU                  16
18. Virginia Tech     15
19. UCLA                14
      Dartmouth        14
      North Carolina  14
22. Georgia            13
23. Oklahoma         12
      Baylor              12
25. Texas Tech       11