Posted: May 2, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas Earns Fourth-Straight No. 1 Ranking

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the fourth-straight week the Arkansas track and field team received the top national ranking in the Trackwire 25 that was released on Tuesday. The Razorbacks were given 69 points and remain a favorite to take the team title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., on June 8-11. The Hogs now hold a nine-point lead over second-place Florida (60), while Arizona and LSU are tied in third with 42 points.

Stanford tallied 34 points for the No. 5 position. USC and Arizona State share sixth place with 29 points. Indiana and Florida State are also tied in eighth (28). With 27 points Auburn jumped up into the top 10 for the first time this season.

Other Southeastern Conference teams found in the top 25 include Mississippi State tied at No. 14 (18) and Georgia tied at No. 19 (14).

Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen features 10 Razorbacks and two UA relay teams ranked among the nation’s top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.

Two UA athletes can be found at the top of their respective events. Sophomore Wallace Spearmon Jr., is primed to successfully defend his individual title in the 200 meters, while junior Josphat Boit is picked No.1 in the 10,000 meters and No. 8 in the 5,000 meters.

Senior NCAA 100-meter champion Tyson Gay and junior All-American Omar Brown were also listed in the 200 meters at No. 4 and No. 7. In the 100-meter dash Gay fell slightly from No. 1 to No. 4.

National indoor runner-up senior Terry Gatson can be found at seventh in the 400 meters, while another national indoor runner-up, senior James Hatch, is at No. 11 in the 800 meters.

The 1,500-meter run has senior Said Ahmed ranked at No. 9 and in the 3,000-meter steeplechase sophomore Peter Kosgei is second. In addition to the steeplechase Kosgei is right behind Boit in the 10,000 meters with a No. 2 ranking. The distance duo currently holds the top two 10K times in the NCAA.

UA’s 4x400-meter relay has held steady in fifth place, as has the 4x100-meter relay team that was placed at No. 7.

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

This weekend Razorbacks will have the opportunity to display their high rankings when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Penn Relays on April 28-30. Two distance runners will head to the west coast for the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. They will run the 10,000 meters on May 1.