LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, May 15–17 — Arkansas’ decades-long track & field dynasty, continuing to thrive under 17-year Coach Chris Bucknam, has typically prided itself in excellence across the board. This past weekend at the SEC Championships on Kentucky’s track came more good evidence of that.
It started for the Razorbacks with a dominating decathlon by Marcus Weaver (7940 points), caught fire with an electrifying sprint double from Jordan Anthony, and was clinched with the type of clutch distance performances the program became famous for in the 1500 and 5000.
Before the team title was resolved, however, fans witnessed arguably the best 3-deep 110 hurdle battle in collegiate history. Auburn soph Ja’Kobe Tharp, the SEC and NCAA defending champ and NCAA 60H champ indoors, had flown a bit under the radar this spring with just a 13.35 best. Meanwhile, Texas’s Kendrick Smallwood had raised eyebrows in a comeback campaign with a windy 13.07 (2.3) at the Texas Relays to become a sudden NCAA contender, also sporting a legal best of 13.26.
Smallwood established an early lead, held off a mid-race challenge from Texas A&M’s Ja’Qualon Scott, then a very late charge by Tharp. He closed strong and leaned hard to earn a huge PR 13.13. Tharp finished even better, his power showing in the final 20 meters, and chopped a big 0.20 off his season’s best for a PR 13.15, while Scott (13.27 PR coming in) completed the first-ever college race with three under 13.20 with his 13.18.
Smallwood actually clipped several hurdles, but not hard enough to stifle his speed and power. “Hey, my start wasn’t what I wanted it to be and my execution wasn’t there,” he said with a big smile. “But you know what? Flo [Coach Edrick Floréal] told me, ‘scratch on it, give ‘em the business’ and the motto for this week was ‘TFU.’ I can’t say it on TV, but that’s what I did.”
Meanwhile, Anthony, an unapologetic combination football/track & field athlete from Mississippi, gained national attention as a high school senior out of Tylertown, Mississippi, when he won a handful of prep and U.S. Junior titles. Now at his third school following stints at Kentucky and Texas A&M, he is thriving as never before. After winning the NCAA 60 in March, Anthony went under 10 the first time at Mt. SAC a month ago, and in his prelim here clocked a barely windy 9.96 (2.1).
The wind gauge registered 0.0 in the final, though, as he blazed to a 9.95, .06 better than Auburn soph Kanyinsola Ajayi. Coming into the 200 about an hour later, he was an underdog despite a PR 20.10 prelim, thanks to the leading 19.92 prelim by another Tiger, Makanakaishe Charamba. But Anthony was ready to level up: he blasted a PR 19.93 (1.3) while Charamba had to settle for 2nd in 20.08.
“They just really have faith in me,” said Anthony of the difference in his performances this year as a Razorback. “They just pour it into me and I’m just pouring back into them on the track.”
The 1500 final where the Hogs amassed 17 points wasn’t nearly as swift… until the very end. The pack dawdled through 800 in about 2:15 and coming into the penultimate home stretch, Arkansas’ Reuben Reina, Brian Masai and Davis Helmerich had moved into the top three spots. Reina’s move turned out to be premature, but Helmerich shot through on the inside with just over 200 to go and held on for the 3:52.01 win (52.06 closer) — with Masai taking 3rd and Reina 8th.
Then the Hogs got the final points they needed in the 5000, as Ben Shearer survived a massive tumble for a runner-up finish (13:50.19) behind Toby Gillen of Ole Miss (13:49.75). Just past the kilometer mark, legs got tangled and runners started falling like bowling pins in the massive 51-runner field. Shearer was among those and actually performed a backward somersault to get back to his feet, nearly fell a second time, then finally got back in it — with the pace being modest enough (67-68s) that as a 13:24 runner he was able to recover.
The 8 points (plus 2 more from Masai) was the final tally Arkansas needed to win with 98½ points. Alabama, with a quartet of potential high scorers, including 10,000 champ Victor Kiprop, was able to take 3-4-5 and had 35 total points in the 5 and 10, plus a 45.04 400 win by Samuel Ogazi, but it wasn’t quite enough.
In the end, Georgia claimed the runner-up spot with 87 points, overtaking ’Bama (85) with its 3:02.60 triumph in the 4×4. The Bulldogs also got an impressive collegiate-leading high jump win from soph Riyon Rankin at 7-6 (2.29), plus 16 points in the 400 and 14 in the decathlon.
Displays of high sprint & hurdle speed weren’t limited to Anthony and the 110 hurdlers. Tennessee clocked a stunning 38.20 in the 4×1, more than a half-second improvement on its season’s best and making the Vols the =No. 6 all-time school in the event. In the 400H, Moroccan frosh Saad Hinti blasted a 48.44 for the title.
Gillen helped 5th-place Ole Miss with that winning 5000 finish, plus a runner-up finish in the 10. But 20 of the Rebels’ markers came from a monster hammer/shot double by junior Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan. His 248-5 (75.72) PR in the former made him the No. 6 all-time American collegian and his 67-10¼ (20.68) shot was just off his collegiate year list No. 2 PR and brought his ninth overall SEC title indoors and out.
Oklahoma, new to the SEC, got victories from Jamaican Olympic finalist Ralford Mullings in the discus at 218-1 (66.48) — he’s already history’s No. 2 collegian at 226-9 (69.13) — and Brandon Green in the triple jump at 54-10¼w (4.0).
SEC MEN’S RESULTS
Teams: 1. Arkansas 98½ ; 2. Georgia 87; 3. Alabama 85; 4. Texas A&M 77; 5. Ole Miss 74; 6. Tennessee 63; 7. Texas 53½; 8. Auburn 50; 9. LSU 45½; 10. Oklahoma 44; 11. South Carolina 43½; 12. Florida 38; 13. Kentucky 24; 14. Mississippi State 22; 15. Missouri 14.
100(0.0): 1. **Jordan Anthony (Ar) 9.95 (CL);
2. **Kanyinsola Ajayi’ (Aub-Ngr) 10.01; 3. ***Jelani Watkins (LSU) 10.02; 4. ***Israel Okon’ (Aub-Ngr) 10.07; 5. **Jaiden Reid’ (LSU-Cay) 10.08; 6. ***Brody Buffington (Ga) 10.10; 7. *T’Mars McCallum (Tn) 10.10; 8. **Davonte Howell’ (Tn-Cay) 10.13.
200(1.3): 1. **Jordan Anthony (Ar) 19.93; 2. Makanakaishe Charamba’ (Aub-Zim) 20.08; 3. Reid’ 20.15; 4. Buffington 20.24; 5. **Xavier Butler (Tx) 20.28; 6. Watkins 20.28.
Heats: I(0.5)–1. Charamba’ 19.92 (CL);
400: 1. **Samuel Ogazi’ (Al-Ngr) 45.04; 2. ***Josiah Wrice (SC) 45.40; 3. ***Ervin Pearson (Ga) 45.58; 4. **Will Floyd’ (Ga-Can) 45.74.
800: 1. Sam Whitmarsh (TxAM) 1:45.35; 2. Abdullahi Hassan’ (MsSt-Can) 1:45.64; 3. Rivaldo Marshall’ (Ar-Jam) 1:45.81; 4. *Oussama El Bouchayby’ (Al-Mor) 1:46.07; 5. **Miguel Pantojas’ (Fl-PR) 1:46.76.
1500: 1. Davis Helmerich (Ar) 3:52.01; 2. Cooper Cawthra (TxAM) 3:52.14; 3. *Brian Masai’ (Ar-Ken) 3:52.17;
4. **Luca Santorum’ (TxAM-Ita) 3:52.62.
St: 1. ***Collins Kiprop Kipngok’ (Ky-Ken) 8:26.33; 2. *Victor Kibiego’ (TxAM-Ken) 8:44.80; 3. Zach Jaeger (Tn) 8:45.40; 4. ***Ezekiel Pitireng’ (Al-Ken) 8:45.52.
5000: 1. Toby Gillen’ (Ms-Aus) 13:49.75; 2. *Ben Shearer (Ar) 13:50.19; 3. ***Dismus Lokira’ (Al-Ken) 13:50.44; 4. **Dennis Kipruto’ (Al-Ken) 13:50.78; 5. Victor Kiprop’ (Al-Ken) 13:51.11.
10,000: 1. Kiprop’ 30:10.85; 2. Gillen’ 30:12.62; 3. ***Dismus Lokira’ (Al-Ken) 30:19.60; 4. **Timothy Chesondin’ (Ar-Ken) 30:21.08.
110H(0.5): 1. *Kendrick Smallwood (Tx) 13.13 (CL) (5, x C); 2. **Ja’Kobe Tharp (Aub) 13.15 (=6, x C); 3. Ja’Qualon Scott (TxAM) 13.18 (=9, x C);
4. *Demaris Waters (Fl) 13.39; 5. *Matthew Sophia’ (LSU-Neth) 13.41; 6. *Jahiem Stern’ (LSU-Jam) 13.55.
400H: 1. ***Saad Hinti’ (Tn-Mor) 48.44 (CL);
2. *Kody Blackwood (Tx) 48.78; 3. Scott 49.07; 4. Harry Barton’ (Tn-GB) 49.87; 5. Bryce McCray (TxAM) 49.88.
4 x 100: 1. Tennessee 38.20 (CL) (=10 C, =6 school);
2. LSU 38.43; 3. Arkansas 38.60; 4. Texas 38.81; 5. Kentucky 38.82.
4 x 400: I–1. Texas 3:04.42.II–1. Georgia 3:02.06; 2. Texas A&M 3:02.46; 3. Florida 3:03.27; 4. LSU 3:03.73.
Field Events
HJ: 1. **Riyon Rankin (Ga) 7-6 (2.29); 2. *Arvesta Troupe (Ms) 7-5 (2.26); 3. **Kyren Washington (Ok) 7-2½ (2.20); 4. ***Scottie Vines (Ar) 7-1½ (2.17).
PV: 1. *Aleksandr Solovev’ (TxAM-Rus) 18-9¼ (5.72); 2. *Cade Gray (Tn) 18-2½ (5.55); 3. **John Kendricks (Ms) 18-½ (5.50); 4. Nikolai van Huyssteen’ (Ga-SA) 18-½; 5. *Blake Sifferlin (Tn) 18-½.
LJ: 1. ***Jayden Keys (Ga) 26-1 (7.95); 2. Channing Ferguson (SC) 26-0 (7.92); 3. Malcolm Clemons (Fl) 25-11½ (7.91); 4. Solomon Washington (Tx) 25-10¼ (7.88).
TJ: 1. *Brandon Green (Ok) 54-10¼w (16.72) (54-3¾/16.55); 2. *Luke Brown’ (Ky-Jam) 53-7 (16.33); 3. Floyd Whitaker (Ok) 53-1½ (16.19).
SP: 1. *Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 67-10¼ (20.68); 2. Christopher Licata (SC) 66-10¾ (20.39); 3. Alexander Kolesnikoff’ (Ga-Aus) 65-11 (20.09).
DT: 1. Mullings’ 218-1 (66.48); 2. Gunzell’ 208-2 (63.44); 3. Jacob Lemmon (Fl) 202-9 (61.80); 4. *Seth Allen (Aub) 196-4 (59.84);
5. **Aron Alvarez Aranda’ (Tn-SA) 195-0 (59.44); 6. *Christopher Young’ (Al-Jam) 193-7 (59.01).
HT: 1. Robinson-O’Hagan 248-5 (75.72) (6, x AmC) (248-5, 247-8, 246-6, f, 241-7, 233-11) (75.72, 75.50, 75.13, f, 73.64, 71.30);
2. Jake Dalton (Ms) 224-9 (68.51); 3. Robert Decker (Al) 224-4 (68.39); 4. Kyle Moison (Aub) 223-0 (67.99);
5. *Bryson Smith (Ms) 221-11 (67.64); 6. Kyle Brown (Aub) 220-7 (67.25); 7. *Sam Innes (Mo) 220-3 (67.15)).
JT: 1. Remi Rougetet’ (MsSt-Fra) 264-1 (80.49); 2. Moustafa Alsherif’ (Ga-Egy) 252-5 (76.94);
3. ***Nick Reynolds (Tn) 251-7 (76.69) (5, 5 AJ);
4. **Leikel Cabrera Gay’ (Fl-Cub) 249-10 (76.16).
Dec: 1. Marcus Weaver (Ar) 7940 (11.29, 22-10/6.96, 48-8¾/14.85, 6-7/2.01, 50.46, 14.86, 152-11/46.62, 14-7¼/4.45, 224-5/68.41, 4:40.94); 2. ***Maximus Tucker (Ga) 7437; 3. Jordan Fick (Ga) 7401; 4. John Murray (Aub) 7315.
