FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas persevered through the damp and chilly weather conditions, adding to its ever-growing list of NCAA West preliminary round qualifiers on Saturday evening at John McDonnell Field.
Event Winners
Arkansas 4-x-100-meter relay quartet of Roy Ejiakuekwu, Kemar Mowatt, Josh Washington and Kenzo Cotton were the first event winners of the day. The foursome posted a new meet record of 39.28 out of lane five to capture the event title. Cotton was also the top collegiate performer in the 100, placing second overall with a time of 10.21 behind Olympic gold medalist Omar McLeod. Cotton capped his day with a win in the 200 off an NCAA West top-10 time of 20.59.
The Razorback men picked up three more victories on the track courtesy of junior Larry Donald (110 hurdles), senior Mowatt (400 hurdles) and sophomore Obi Igbokwe (400). Donald won the high hurdle competition with a wind-legal season’s best. Mowatt dominated the intermediate hurdles, crossing the finish line with a new PR of 50.44 to earn a place inside the NCAA top-12. Igbokwe raced to a program top-five performance, clocking 45.54 to move up to No. 8 on the NCAA outdoor performance list.
Arkansas’ final event victory on the track was secured by three-time All-American Jack Bruce in the 1,500. Currently ranked third in the NCAA in the 5,000, Bruce was paced to a personal-best performance of 3 minutes, 41.45 seconds by fellow All-American teammate Alex George. The pair now not only control the SEC 5K leader boards but lay claim to spots among the top-four best 1,500-meter runners in the conference. George and Bruce also rank inside the top-12 best in the 1,500 in the NCAA West region.
Two-time NCAA national champion Clive Pullen was the top Razorback performer in the field, opening his final outdoor season with a victory in the triple jump. Pullen only needed one leap to book his trip the NCAA West preliminary round and ended the day with a best of 16.03m/52-7 1/4, shutting down after three jumps to save his legs for a warmer day. Harrison Schrage and Ken Legassey also captured event titles in the field, winning the long jump and high jump, respectively.
Additional Notable Performances
• Rhayko Schwartz posted his first sub-47 second 400-meter performance (46.76) as a Razorback finished second.
• Roy Ejiakuekwu finished top-three in the 100 and 200.
• Erich Sullins finished top-three in the hammer and discus throws.
Arkansas will return to action tomorrow as combined events performers Lane Austell, Brad Culp, Derek Jacobus and Gabe Moore continue their decathlon duel with Wisconsin at 10 a.m. with the 110 hurdles. Moore currently leads the group with a day one total of 3,963 points while Jacobus closely trails in third with 3,841 points. Austell and Culp are poised to get up into mix as both multis have historically surged back in the day two events.
John McDonnell Invitational
April 22, 2017
John McDonnell Invitational (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
100 Meters
2. Kenzo Cotton – 10.21
3. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 10.37
4. Josh Washington – 10.40
200 Meters
1. Kenzo Cotton – 20.59
2. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 20.86
3. Josh Washington – 20.88
5. Rhayko Schwartz – 21.35
400 Meters
1. Obi Igbokwe – 45.54
2. Rhayko Schwartz – 46.76
3. Jamarco Stephen – 46.81
11. John Winn – 48.72
800 Meters
2. Carlton Orange – 1:49.97
1,500 Meters
1. Jack Bruce – 3:41.45
6. Austen Dalquist – 3:47.57
8. Kyle Levermore – 3:49.73
11. Cameron Griffith – 3:51.26
12. Aidan Swain – 3:51.44
21. Ethan Moehn – 3:56.95
24. Graham Brown – 4:00.04
26. Chris Mooneyham – 4:02.63
110 Meter Hurdles
1. Larry Donald – 14.20
3. Travius Chambers – 15.18
400 Meter Hurdles
1. Kemar Mowatt – 50.44
2. Larry Donald – 51.50
4. Travius Chambers – 52.77
4-x-100-Meter Relay
1. Ejiakuekwu, Mowatt, Washington, Cotton – 39.28
2. Schwartz, Igbokwe, Harris, Stephen – 40.10
High Jump
1. Ken LeGassey – 2.06m/6-9
2. Rubin Owens – 2.06m/6-9
3. Brendon Rivera – 2.06m/6-9
Long Jump
1. Harrsion Schrage – 7.36m/24-1 3/4
2. Andreas Trajkovski – 7.32m/24-0 1/4
Triple Jump
1. Clive Pullen – 16.03m/52-7 1/4
3. Rubin Owens – 15.16m/49-9
Shot Put
2. Sam Kempka – 17.00m/55-9 1/4
3. Jeff Rogers – 16.97m/55-8 1/4
Discus Throw
3. Erich Sullins – 50.48m/165-7
9. Jeff Rogers – 43.89m/144-0
Hammer Throw
2. Erich Sullins – 58.58m/192-2
Javelin Throw
3. Andrew Henn – 55.30m/181-5
4. Alex Springer – 55.08m/180-8
Decathlon
1. Gabe Moore – 3,963 points
6. 100m – 11.15 (827)
4. Long Jump – 22-1 3/4 (755)
2. Shot Put – 45-5 3/4 (720)
1. High Jump – 6-6 3/4 (803)
1. 400m – 49.07 (858)
3. Derek Jacobus – 3,841 points
1. 100m – 10.80 (906)
1. Long Jump – 23-5 1/4 (847)
8. Shot Put – 39-5 3/4 (608)
3. High Jump – 6-2 (696)
4. 400m – 50.68 (784)
4. Brad Culp – 3,743 points
5. 100m – 11.02 (856)
3. Long Jump – 22-5 1/4 (776)
4. Shot Put – 41-5 1/4 (645)
2. High Jump – 6-4 1/4 (749)
7. 400m – 52.18 (717)
5. Lane Austell – 3,700 points
4. 100m – 11.00 (861)
5. Long Jump – 22-1 1/2 (753)
6. Shot Put – 39-11 1/2 (617)
5. High Jump – 6-2 (696)
5. 400m – 50.92 (773)
