Posted: May 11, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas No. 1 Headed into SEC Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas will carry its’ season-long No. 1 ranking to the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend after the Razorbacks garnered their sixth-straight top billing in the Trackwire 25 that was released on Tuesday. The Razorbacks were given 67 points and are still the 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 19-point lead over Southeastern Conference foe and second-ranked Florida (48). LSU is within striking distance in third with 47 points.

Stanford is fourth with 37 points and Arizona is close behind in fifth with a tally of 40 points. Southern Cal and Florida State are next in a tie for sixth with 33. Auburn was given 31 points for the eighth position and Arizona State is in ninth with 30. Indiana rounded out the top 10 with 26 points.

Other SEC teams found in the top 25 include Mississippi State tied at No. 13 (20), and Ole Miss and Georgia tied at No. 21 (13).

Arkansas’ presence in Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen has remained consistent throughout the season with very few changes and 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 moved up one spot to No. 4 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.

Complete Trackwire 25:
1.         Arkansas     67
2.     Florida        48
3.     LSU        47
4.        Stanford      37
5.     Arizona        36
6.     Florida State 33
        Southern Cal 33
8.     Auburn        31
9.     Arizona State 30
10.   Indiana        26
11.   Oregon        23
12.        Michigan      21
13.        Mississippi State        20
        Texas        20
15.        Nebraska      19
        Wisconsin     19
17.   UCLA        18
        Boise State 18
19.   Virginia Tech 16
20.   Texas Tech 14
21.   BYU        13
        Ole Miss        13
        Baylor        13
        Georgia        13
25.    Dartmouth                 12