Despite hosting Tyson Invitational on same weekend, Razorbacks decide to have 15 distance runners travel to Dempsey facility in Seattle for first time in two years to race elite college and professional athletes in pursuit of more qualifying marks for upcoming SEC and NCAA Indoor meets

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The distance runners representing the Arkansas track and field program have not attended an indoor meet outside their own Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville in two years.

But in order to prepare for upcoming trips to College Station, Texas, for the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, as well as the CrossPlex in Birmingham for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor finals, there was no surprise when it came to the first choice to attend an event for Razorbacks women’s coach Lance Harter and men’s program head Chris Bucknam.

As a result, nine female athletes representing No. 3 Arkansas and six male competitors for the No. 12 Razorbacks will be among the top individuals participating Friday and Saturday against fields including elite college and professional entries at the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle.

WATCH THE HUSKY CLASSIC LIVE WEBCAST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

“There is an aura about when you walk in those doors, that, hey, you better run fast or you’re going to get run over,” Harter said. “It’s focused on one thing and that’s getting some really quality fast distance marks and obviously we want to be a part of that because we feel like we have the athletes that fit into that category, and we want to give them an optimal chance to perform at their best while we’re there.”

Arkansas competed at the Husky Classic in 2020, but because of COVID-19 restrictions, combined with the SEC Indoor Championships and Division 1 indoor meet both being at Randal Tyson Track Center last season, the Razorbacks had seven home events last year, in addition to several American Track League professional meets being showcased at the venue as well.

Arkansas has opened this season with three more home competitions, and are also hosting the Tyson Invitational on Friday and Saturday, but Bucknam knew the opportunity to return to Seattle to race at Dempsey was too good to pass up.

“For me, it was not so much just the fact that they run a good meet out there and everybody will run fast, it’s just a change of scenery for us too,” Bucknam said. “I just felt like I needed our guys to run against some different competition and get out of town. We’re going to have to travel to Texas A&M and to the NCAA meet, so traveling now kind of helps us as well.

“I felt like our distance crew is off to a great start and the stars have aligned for us so far. It takes a lot for us to make that decision and there are a lot of things that have to come into play, but we went with it and we’ll see how things turn out for us. But we’re appreciative of a good track meet out there and the effort that they put in to make it good.”

Arkansas will have Krissy Gear, Lauren Gregory, Logan Jolly, Quinn Owen, Julia Paternain, Carmie Prinsloo, Kennedy Thomson, Sydney Thorvaldson and Isabel Van Camp representing the women’s team in the mile, 3,000 and 5,000.

The Razorbacks will also showcase Emmanuel Cheboson, Amon Kemboi, Andrew Kibet, Patrick Kiprop, Myles Richter and Elias Schreml in the men’s 3,000 and 5,000.

“After a while, you start getting stale always being in the same place. A lot of the kids are literally walking out of class and showing up in the arena and realizing we’ve got to run fast,” Harter said. “Travel sometimes has a tendency to create a little more focus, and we’re going cross country to get some things done. The way they set the races up in Washington, there is no doubt, not taking anything away from any of the other events, but you’re going there to run distances fast.

“We need to get some things done this weekend, Friday and Saturday, to optimize our abilities at the conference meet, and qualifying for NCAAs.”

Bucknam emphasized that Arkansas is only allowed to take 27 student-athletes from the men’s track and field team to compete Feb. 25-26 at the SEC Indoor Championships at Texas A&M, which creates even more urgency for the individuals selected to go to Washington to perform well in order to secure a spot on the roster to also travel to College Station.

“Obviously this is not our last chance, but it’s a big chance for us, and I’m sure for Lance too, to get into those top 16 (NCAA) fields,” said Bucknam, who decided not to run a men’s distance medley relay until Feb. 18 at the Arkansas Qualfiier.

“It’s also implications for the SEC meet and seeding, and there’s a battle just to make our conference championship team as well. That’s why this weekend is so important on a lot of different levels. This is a huge meet for us.”

Harter knows that the Razorbacks top-ranked women’s DMR and 4x400 relay, No. 2 the country, are in favorable positions to qualify for the NCAA indoor championship meet, which allows Arkansas to focus solely on individual performances at the Husky Classic.

“We’re at that point in our schedule and in our training as well, that we really need to start knocking out as many optimal performances as possible across the board because our next major competition is going to be the SEC meet,” Harter said. “So for seeding purposes and NCAA qualifying purposes, this weekend is very much a keynote for our schedule.”