Razorbacks On Top Of Trackwire Rankings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Following a dominating performance at last weekends Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, Arkansas is back on top of the Trackwire.com national indoor track and field team rankings. The Razorbacks blistered the field at the conference meet in Gainesville, Fla., earning 141 points and out-scoring second-place Tennessee (106) by 35 points in the process. Arkansas was ranked No. 1 in the inaugural indoor poll of the season, but fell to as low as No. 4 on Feb. 7. The Hogs are ranked first with a projected 59 points for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. SEC rival LSU held the top spot last week, but fell to second place in the most recent listing after finishing fourth in the conference meet. The Tigers have 45 points. Texas (42 points) is ranked third while Florida State (30 points) and Florida (29 points) rank fourth and fifth, respectively. SEC runner-up Tennessee is tied for sixth with Baylor and Michigan at 26 points. Oregon and Wisconsin are tied for ninth with 21 points. The poll is based on projected scoring in each event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships set for March 10-11 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. Arkansas and Texas share the top spot in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Associations (USTFCCCA) national poll this week. The Razorbacks and Longhorns both won their respective conference crowns last weekend and are tied at No. 1 in the poll voted on by a panel of 38 college coaches representing each region of the nation. LSU, Florida State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Tennessee, Michigan, Arizona and Virginia Tech round out the top 10 teams in the USTFCCCA listing. The Hogs continue to dot the national individual event rankings as well. The Dandy Dozen released this week by Trackwire.com includes 11 Arkansas entries including three each in the 3,000-meter run and the 5,000-meter run. Senior Josphat Boit is ranked third in the 3,000 and second in the 5,000-meter run this week. Boit won the SEC 3,000-meter run over the weekend, but did not compete in the 5K after Arkansas had already wrapped up the team title. Junior Peter Kosgei finished second to Boit in the 3,000 meters last weekend and defended his SEC individual crown by winning the 5,000. Kosgei is ranked fourth in the 3K and third in the 5K according to Trackwire. Senior Marc Rodrigues parlayed a quality third-place conference performance into a No. 6 ranking in the 3,000 meters. Sophomore Shawn Forrest is ranked ninth in the 5,000 meters after garnering an SEC runner-up finish in that event. Senior Said Ahmed defended his SEC title in the mile run last weekend. He is ranked fourth in the mile rankings this week. Ahmed also anchored the Razorbacks distance medley relay team to a second-place finish at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Arkansas is ranked second, behind Michigan, in the DMR in the latest rankings. Fresh off his second-consecutive SEC triple jump championship, senior Jaanus Uudmae is ranked No. 2 in the national triple jump rankings. He is joined in the list by freshman teammate Nkosinza Balumbu who finished second to Uudmae in the triple jump last weekend at the conference meet. Balumbu is ranked third nationally in the event giving the Razorbacks two of the top three triple jumpers in the nation. Uudmae also represents the Hogs in the national long jump rankings. The Estonia native is ranked fifth this week after finishing third in the long jump in Gainesville. Arkansas will send a contingent of athletes to Ames, Iowa, this weekend for a last-chance meet. The Razorbacks host the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center the following weekend. Arkansas will be looking to defend its 2005 NCAA Indoor Track and Field title and win its 42nd national championship overall in the two-day championship meet. Tickets are still available for the meet by logging onto www.hogwired.com and clicking on tickets on the left-hand side of the page. Trackwire National Rankings Feb. 27, 2006 1. Arkansas - 59 2. LSU - 45 3. Texas - 42 4. Florida State - 30 5. Florida - 29 6. Tennessee - 26 Baylor - 26 Michigan - 26 9. Oregon - 21 Wisconsin - 21 11. Kansas - 20 12. Arizona - 19 13. Virginia Tech -18 Iona - 18 15. Nebraska - 17 16. TCU - 15 17. Texas A&M - 14 18. Oral Roberts - 13 19. Kansas State -11 20. UCLA - 10 Stanford - 10 Minnesota - 10 USTFCCCA National Rankings Feb. 27, 2006 1. Arkansas Texas 3. LSU 4. Florida State 5. Wisconsin 6. Nebraska 7. Tennessee 8. Michigan 9. Arizona 10. Virginia Tech 11. Baylor 12. Florida 13. Kansas 14. Texas A&M 15. Oregon 16. Iona 17. South Carolina 18. UCLA 19. UTEP 20. Oral Roberts