Posted: May 3, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas Stays No. 1 for Fifth-Straight Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas continued its’ reign on top of the collegiate track and field scene after the Hogs received their fifth-straight No. 1 national ranking in the Trackwire 25 that was released on Tuesday. The Razorbacks were given 67 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. Arkansas holds a commanding 20-point lead over a pair of Southeastern Conference teams that are tied in second-place, including Florida (47) and LSU (47).

Arizona tallied 40 points for fourth place and Stanford has 37 points in fifth. Southern Cal is next in sixth with 33, while Arizona State and Auburn are tied in seventh place. Florida State is in ninth with 28 and Indiana rounded out the top 10 with 26 points.

Other SEC teams found in the top 25 include Mississippi State at No. 14 (20) and Ole Miss tied at No. 22 (13).

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 and has had the NCAA’s top time the entire year. Junior Josphat Boit is picked No.1 in the 10,000 meters and No. 7 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 is ranked fourth.

National indoor runner-up senior Terry Gatson can be found at sixth in the 400 meters, while another national indoor runner-up, senior James Hatch, is at No. 12 in the 800 meters.

The 1,500-meter run has senior All-American 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 close to Boit in the 10,000 meters with a No. 4 ranking.

Both of UA’s relays, including the 4x100 and 4x400 meters, are place at No. 7.

In the field events senior All-American Jaanus Uudmae held steady at No. 5 in the triple jump, while junior All-American Eric Brown remains second in the javelin. Brown is only trailing the nation’s top thrower by less than an inch.

The Razorbacks will have almost two weeks to rest before they travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 11-14. It is the first time Vanderbilt has hosted the conference meet and Arkansas will be going for its 12th SEC outdoor title and 76th overall league crown.

Complete Trackwire 25
1. Arkansas                     67
2. Florida                         47
    LSU                             47
4. Arizona                        40
5. Stanford                      37
6. USC                                       33
7. Arizona State            31
    Auburn                         31
9. Florida State            28
10. Indiana                       26
11. Oregon                       23
12. Texas                         22
13. Michigan                    21
14. Mississippi State 20
15. Nebraska                    19
      BYU                           19
17. Boise State            18
18. Wisconsin               15
      Virginia Tech             15
20. Dartmouth              14
      Texas Tech             14
22. UCLA                         13
      Oklahoma               13
      Mississippi               13
      Baylor                       13