Posted: June 3, 2005

Athletics: Arkansas Closes Outdoor Season Rankings at No. 1

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The final Trackwire 25 rankings were released on Friday and Arkansas will enter the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships not only as the two-time defending champion, but as the No. 1 team in the nation. The Razorbacks have been put at the top for eight-straight weeks, which constitutes the entire outdoor season.

Arkansas is predicted to earn 65 points with a total of 17 athletes entered into the national meet. The Razorbacks hold a substantial 14-point lead over second-place Florida State (51). Florida tallied 40 points for the third place and there is a two-way tie for No. 4 with 38 points, between LSU and Nebraska. Tennessee and BYU are sharing sixth place with 30 points each. Arizona is next in eighth with 28 and Indiana is close behind with 26 points in ninth place. Stanford rounds out the top 10 with 25 points.

Other Southeastern Conference teams in the top 25 include Auburn at No. 11 who was given 23 points and Mississippi State and Georgia tied at No. 19 with 16 points.

Arkansas will look to get its points from the 10 athletes and one relay team that are ranked in Trackwire’s Dandy Dozen. After being found in the lower half of the rankings for most of the season the Razorback 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Michael Grant, sophomore Wallace Spearmon Jr., and seniors Tyson Gay and Omar Brown were bumped up to No. 1 for the first time. The group registered the nation’s second-fastest time when they captured the regional title with a school and meet record performance of 38.75.

A trio of Razorbacks are also ranked in the 200-meter dash. Spearmon had been holding down the top spot with a world-leading time of 19.97, but is now at third. Gay moved up to second and Brown is fifth. LSU’s Xavier Carter took over the top spot as the SEC and mideast champion.

Sophomore sensation Peter Kosgei is the other UA athlete that is ranked No. 1 in his event. Kosgei has not lost a 3,000-meter steeplechase race this year and he will try to keep his winning streak alive through two heats at the NCAA Championships.

In addition to the challenging steeplechase he is fourth in the 10,000 meters, while junior Josphat Boit is third. Boit is also doubling and will see competition in the 5,000 meters. He is picked to finish in seventh in the event.

Sophomore Adam Perkins made his first appearance in the Dandy Dozen after he stepped up at the regional championships and won the 1,500 meters. He is in the No. 7 position as he prepares for his outdoor national meet.

Senior James Hatch was placed at No. 9 in the 800 meters, while senior Terry Gatson is sixth in the 400 meters. Both of these indoor national runner-ups will be determined to improve their standings when they step on the track in Sacramento.

In the field events junior Eric Brown remained in third in the javelin and senior Jaanus Uudmae is ranked sixth in the triple jump. Brown has the NCAA Mideast Regional title to his name, while Uudmae is carrying the SEC triple jump crown.

Complete Trackwire 25
1. Arkansas            65
2. Florida State  51
3. Florida                40
4. LSU                    38
    Nebraska            38
6. Tennessee           30
    BYU                             30
8. Arizona               28
9. Indiana               26
10. Stanford            25
11. Auburn              23
12. Wisconsin          22
      UCLA                22
14. Texas Tech   21
       Oregon            21
       Texas              21
17. Arizona State  20
18. Southern Cal     17
19. Mississippi St.      16
      Georgia            16
      Boise State  16
22. Baylor               15
23. Michigan           13
      Virginia Tech   13
25. Kansas State  12