FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021 – COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: Shawn Price
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Online Version: https://bit.ly/2QhjXGJ
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Arkansas scored 22 points in the 10,000m final to close out the first day of the SEC Championships held at E.B. Cushing Stadium on the Texas A&M campus. Those points have the Razorbacks in the team lead over Alabama and LSU, who each scored 20 points on Thursday.
Gilbert Boit repeated as a silver medalist in the 10,000m as he ran 29:10.98 to finish behind the 28:55.56 by Alabama’s Vincent Kiprop. Razorback Luke Meade secured the bronze medal with a career best time of 29:22.40 while Matt Young, who closed with a last lap of 59.36, repeated his fourth-place finish from 2019 with a 29:31.97.
Placing seventh and eighth for Arkansas were Myles Richter (30:10.32) and Jacob McLeod (30:11.03).
Arkansas also scored 22 points in the 2019 SEC 10,000m off a 2-3-4-6 finish as Boit and Young were the only two returning from that group of four.
Ruben Banks just missed adding to the Razorback team score as he finished ninth in the hammer with a toss of 213-11 (65.20), which came in the second round and advanced the freshman thrower to the final three rounds.
Indoor weight champion Thomas Mardal of Florida claimed the hammer victory with a mark of 245-4 (74.78). A 218-6 (66.61) by Auburn’s Kyle Brown placed eighth to score in the event.
In qualifying prelims Nick Hilson and Jalen Brown advanced to the final in the 400m hurdles and 200m, respectively.
Brown clocked a career best of 20.80 (0.4 wind) as runner-up in his heat behind Georgia’s Matthew Boling (20.27) while LSU’s Terrance Laird had the fastest qualifying time of 20.13. Brown’s effort ranked seventh among those reaching the final.
Hilson ran a season best of 50.58 as runner-up in his heat of the 400m hurdles behind a 50.44 by Alabama’s Robert Dunning. Hilson was sixth fastest among those advancing to the final. Racing in the same heat was Razorback Travean Caldwell, who ran 52.98.
Kieran Taylor was also a runner-up in his heat of the 800m with a 1:50.04, but with four heats the advancement was each heat winner plus the next five fastest times. On time qualifying, Taylor had a pair of 1:49s ahead of him as he placed 12th overall.
The first day of the decathlon has Daniel Spejcher in fifth place with 3,767 points while Tyler Brendel is seventh with 3,725 points. Markus Ballengee, who moved into second place after the high jump, did not start the 400m, the final event of the first day.
Spejcher produced a career best of 10.89 in the 100m for 885 points, then added a wind-aided 22-9 ¼ (774) long jump. A shot put of 39-6 added 609 points and he score 653 with a 6-0 high jump. A 49.86 in the 400m capped the first day with 821 points.
Brendel opened with a 10.90 in the 100m (883), added a 22-5 in the long jump (774), 42-4 ¾ (662) in the shot put, and 6-0 (653) high jump. He added 753 points off a 51.36 400m.
Ballengee started with an 11.14 in the 100m (830 points), then went 23-0 (7.01) in the long jump (816), and generated a PR of 48-8 ¼ (780) in the shot put. He then cleared 6-2 ¼ (1.89) for 705 points in the high jump.