FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After winning a pair of home meets, including a 10-team Invitational and a Triangular, the Aggies travel for the first time this indoor season and will be one of seven nationally ranked teams competing at the Razorback Invitational on Friday and Saturday in the Randal Tyson Track Complex.
Joining Texas A&M, with the Aggie women ranked No. 3 nationally and the men No. 5, and Arkansas, with the Razorback men ranked No. 1 and the women No. 7, in the scored meet will be Florida (men No. 2, women No. 4), Florida State (men No. 6, women No. 17), Oklahoma, Oklahoma State (men No. 10), Stanford (men No. 20, women No. 9), Texas (men No. 19, women No. 2) and Tulsa.
USTFCCCA has classified the Razorback Invitational as its national meet of the week. Live results will be available at www.flashresults.com while A&M updates are available on twitter through @aggietrk. The meet begins at 4 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Aggies head into the high-caliber meet with six collegiate leaders from the early portion of the 2014 indoor season. The A&M group includes Prezel Hardy, Jr. (20.70, 200m), Deon Lendore (45.74, 400m), Kamaria Brown (22.96, 200m), LaQue Moen-Davis (44-3.25, triple jump) as well as both men's and women's 4x400 relays with times of 3:05.43 and 3:34.15.
Hardy, the national athlete of the week following his double sprint victory on Jan. 18 with career best times of 6.56 and 20.70, will compete in both events this weekend. In the 60 meters Hardy will likely face Dentarius Locke of Florida State and Hugh Graham, Jr. of Florida while the 200 field includes Locke along with Florida's Arman Hall.
In the 400 Lendore, with the current world leading time, will encounter a field that includes Hall, who posted a 45.84 on an oversized track last weekend, as well as Arkansas' Neil Braddy, Florida State's James Harris and Aggie teammates Carlyle Roudette and Aldrich Bailey, Jr.
After posting the two fastest times in the world over 200 meters (22.96, 23.10), Brown will contest her first open 400 of the indoor season in a race that features a showdown with Florida's Ebony Eutsey and Chrishuna Williams of Arkansas as well as Florida State's tandem of Sage Watson and Elizabeth Ichite.
Meanwhile, Moen-Davis will see competition in the triple jump from Ciarra Brewer of Florida and in the long jump she will square off against the Gator duo of Lorraine Graham and Robin Reynolds.
Always an entertaining finish to any meet the 4x400 relays should provide an exciting conclusion to the Razorback Invitational. The Aggie men and women will each test their mettle against Arkansas, Florida and Florida State.
Last year's top two hurdlers in the nation, A&M's Wayne Davis II and Florida's Eddie Lovett, will race in separate heats of the 60 hurdle prelims and likely face one another in the final. Lovett claimed the NCAA Indoor title over 60 hurdles a year ago while Davis captured the NCAA Outdoor title in the 110 hurdles. This season Lovett has recorded a 7.70 in the 60 hurdles while Davis has a best of 7.75.
Fresh off her school record winning performance in the weight throw, Brea Garrett headlines the event this weekend against a field that includes Briana Cherry-Bronson and Lakita Johnson of Florida State. Casey Strong is seeded second in the men's weight throw behind Oklahoma State's Nick Miller.
After clocking a 4:08.07 victory in the Texas A&M Triangular mile, Aggie Alex Riba contests the Invitational mile that features Tulsa's Simon Greiner and Chad Noelle of Oklahoma State. Invitational entries for the A&M women in the 3,000 meters will include the trio of Hillary Montgomery, Grace Fletcher and Amanda Jenkins.
Aggies Hector Hernandez and Josh Hernandez are both in the Invitational 800, running in separate sections. Aliese Hyde will run in the women's 800 Invitational where the top entries include Tulsa's Katherine Camp and Oklahoma State's Kaela Edwards.
Andrew Irwin of Arkansas headlines the men's pole vault where A&M's Chase Wolfle will offer a challenge along with Florida State's Cayman Ellis. Likewise, Aggie Brittany Wooten will seek to add another personal best effort in a women's pole vault field that includes the Razorback tandem of Danielle Nowell and Ariel Voskamp along with Stanford's Ellie McCardwell.
Current SEC Event Leaders
Men
60 6.56 Prezel Hardy, Jr. Texas A&M
200 20.70 Prezel Hardy, Jr. Texas A&M
400 45.74 Deon Lendore Texas A&M
800 1:50.82 Blair Henderson LSU
OT 1:48.20 Sean Obinwa Florida
Mile 4:02.20 Niklas Buhner Auburn
3000 8:15.10 Max Storms Missouri
OT 7:59.55 Matt Hillenbrand Kentucky
5000 14:44.84 Austin Whitelaw Tennessee
OT 14:43.14 Brendan Hoban Georgia
60H 7.70 Eddie Lovett Florida
4x400 3:05.43 Texas A&M
DMR 10:01.33 Texas A&M
OT 9:41.95 Florida
HJ 7-2 ½ 2.20 Anthony May Arkansas
PV 18-4 ¾ 5.61 Sam Kendricks Mississippi
LJ 25-6 ¾ 7.79 Jarrion Lawson Arkansas
TJ 52-6 ½ 16.01 Jeremiah Green Alabama
SP 63-9 19.43 Brad Szypka Kentucky
Wt 67-9 ¾ 20.67 Elias Hakansson Alabama
Multi 5811 Maicel Uibo Georgia
Women
60 7.19 Dezerea Bryant Kentucky
200 22.96 Kamaria Brown Texas A&M
400 53.52 Chrishuna Williams Arkansas
OT 52.76 Ebony Eutsey Florida
800 2:07.47 Cory McGee Florida
OT 2:06.58 Yanique Malcolm Alabama
Mile 4:38.49 Dominique Scott Arkansas
3000 9:21.88 Carly Hamilton Georgia
OT 9:18.26 Cory McGee Florida
5000 OT 16:40.74 Bret McDaniel Georgia
60H 7.96 Kendra Harrison Kentucky
4x400 3:34.15 Texas A&M
OT 3:33.35 Kentucky
DMR 11:25.58 Arkansas
OT 11:00.16 Florida
HJ 6-2 ¾ 1.90 Jeannelle Scheper South Carolina
PV 14-0 4.27 Morgan Leleaux Georgia
LJ 20-11 ¼ 6.38 Erica Bougard Mississippi State
Robin Reynolds Florida
TJ 44-3 ¼ 13.49 LaQue Moen-Davis Texas A&M
SP 54-10 ¼ 16.72 Jill Rushin Missouri
Wt 69-6 21.18 Kearsten Peoples Missouri
Multi 4302 Kendell Williams Georgia