Arkansas track teams set to begin outdoor season

FAYETTEVILLE - In what Arkansas women’s coach Lance Harter and Arkansas men’s coach Chris Bucknam call “a get your feet wet meet,” the Razorbacks nationally third-ranked men and Razorbacks nationally thirdranked women open their outdoor track season with their Arkansas Spring Invitational meet they co-host today and Saturday at John McDonnell Field.

Other than today’s men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon, and this afternoon’s men’s and women’s hammer throw and this evening’s women’s discus, the bulk of the meet runs Saturday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Wichita State, Drake, Missouri State, Central Missouri, Friends University, Arkansas Baptist, Barton County Community College and Iowa Central Community College join the Razorbacks men and women tuning up outdoors with the indoor season having only finished just two weekends ago at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Harter said weather permitting, Tori and Lexi Weeks, the sophomore All-American pole vault twin sisters from Cabot first and second at the SEC Indoor, do intend to vault in Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. women’s vault.

Otherwise, most of both teams’ top-liners, particularly the distance runners, who are out to pursue NCAA Outdoor Regional qualifying marks at next week’s Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., either will sit out this meet or compete in off events rather than their specialties.