Distance duo’s 1-2 punch paces Razorbacks at SEC

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 3 Arkansas kicked off the opening day of the 2018 SEC Indoor Championships, collecting 24 points off the heels of distance duo Jack Bruce and Cameron Griffith, here Saturday afternoon.

From the sound of the gun, Griffith and Bruce made sure to be in scoring contention in the 3,000, running in positions three and four with the lead pack.

With five laps to go, Griffith took control of the race, taking the lead and distancing himself from the rest of the field. Bruce followed suit, increasing his stride and turnover with every passing lap.

The pair crossed the finish line less than one second apart, Griffith winning gold in 7 minutes, 54.19 seconds and Bruce taking silver in 7:54.99.

Both of their times were under the SEC meet record of 7:55.56, formerly held by Razorback distance great Dorian Ulrey.

Oregon transfer Kyle Levermore also contributed to the effort, adding one point to Arkansas’ total following his eighth-place finish.

“Figured we’d share the glory a little bit this year,” Griffith said. “Jack had it last year, thought he would give it me this year. It’s been a good season so far. We’re looking forward to NCAAs.

“When Cam took the lead, it was almost kind of a role reversal from the way we normally run,” Bruce said. “The way we run and the type of runners we are, I think we compliment each other pretty well and I think this race was a perfect display of that.”

Arkansas jumpers Harrison Schrage (long jump) and Jah-Nhai Perinchief (high jump) represented well in the field, adding a combined five points to the Razorbacks team score.

Schrage contributed three points, following his sixth-place finish in the long jump, while Perinchief earned two points from his seventh-place finish in the high jump.

A transfer out of Iowa Central, Perinchief will return to action tomorrow, contesting the triple jump.

Notables:
Senior Kenzo Cotton was the lone double qualifier on day one of the SEC championships, advancing to the event finals of 60 and 200-meter dashes.

Cotton ran a season best of 20.67 in the latter, .02 seconds shy of his indoor personal best in the event.

Razorback milers Ethan Moehn and Kyle Hosting punched their tickets to the event finals as the fourth and ninth-best performers of the day, respectively.

Hosting’s qualifying time 4 minutes, 8.60 seconds was just off his lifetime best by .40 seconds.

Arkansas pushed two more Hogs through to an event final with Obi Igbokwe ad Kemar Mowatt in the 400-meter dash.

Igbokwe was one of five competitors to clock a sub-46 second performance in the preliminary round while Mowatt finished with the seventh-fastest time, a PR of 46.15.

Little Rock native Kieran Taylor made his SEC indoor debut advancing on to the 800-meter finals.

Taylor had the fourth-best performance of the day and was highest finishing underclassman off a personal best of 1:50.35.

One of the top combined events performers in the nation, junior Gabe Moore closed out day one of the heptathlon in fourth-place with a score of 3,109 points.

Moore will open the day for Arkansas tomorrow afternoon, competing in the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles at 2:30 p.m.

“I was really proud of all three of my 3K guys because they all scored,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “Obviously the 1-2 was big but that one point from Kyle [Levermore] might come in handy tomorrow.

“I was really proud of the way they competed tonight and I was proud of everybody. We came in here, guys were dialed, everybody’s body language is good. Certainly ending up with 19 points in the last event I think will energize our team and catapult us into a better day tomorrow.”

SEC Event Finalists:
• 60 meters: Kenzo Cotton
• 200 meters: Kenzo Cotton and Roy Ejiakuekwu
• 400 meters: Obi Igbokwe and Kemar Mowatt
• 800 meters: Kieran Taylor
• Mile: Ethan Moehn and Kyle Hosting
• 60-meter hurdles: Larry Donald

Events To Watch (Sunday):
• 5 p.m. | Triple Jump
Featured Razorback: Jah-Nhai Perinchief (PR: 16.00m/52-6)
• 5:11 p.m. / 6:54 p.m. | 60/200 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Kenzo Cotton (PR: 6.56/20.65)
• 5:39 p.m. | 400 Meters Finals
Featured Razorback: Obi Igbokwe (PR: 45.38)
• 6 p.m. | 5,000 Meters
Featured Razorback: Jack Bruce (PR: 13:43.34)
• 8:27 p.m. | 4-x-400 Meter Relay
Featured Razorback: Arkansas A (PR: 3:05.66)

SEC Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium
Feb. 24, 2018

Team Standings
1. Florida – 30.5
2. Alabama – 28
3. Georgia – 26
4. Arkansas – 24
5. Kentucky – 15
6. Texas A&M – 13.5
7. South Carolina – 8
8. LSU – 4
8. Missouri – 4
10. Tennessee – 3

60 Meters Prelims
2. Kenzo Cotton – 6.65
10. Kris Hari – 6.74

200 Meter Prelims
2. Kenzo Cotton – 20.67
7. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 20.95

400 Meters Prelims
5. Obi Igbokwe – 45.97
7. Kemar Mowatt – 46.15
11. Rhayko Schwartz – 46.46
21. John Winn – 47.32
30. Hunter Woodall – 48.31
32. Travius Chambers – 48.64

800 Meters Prelims
4. Kieran Taylor – 1:50.35
27. Reese Walters – 2:03.97

Mile Prelims
4. Ethan Moehn – 4:05.48
9. Kyle Hosting – 4:08.60

3,000 Meters
1. Cameron Griffith – 7:54.19 MR
2. Jack Bruce – 7:54.95
8. Kyle Levermore – 8:13.06

60 Meter Hurdles
4. Larry Donald – 7.83

High Jump
7. Jah-Nhai Perinchief – 2.18m/7-1¾

Long Jump
6. Harrison Schrage – 7.70m/25-3¼
10. Laquan Nairn – 7.52m/24-8¼

Weight Throw
10. Erich Sullins – 20.27m/66-6

Heptathlon (4 of 7)
4. Gabe Moore – 3,109 pts.
(3) 60 Meters – 7.03, 872 pts.
(3) Long Jump – 7.04m/23-1¼, 823 pts.
(4) Shot Put – 13.83m/45-4½, 718 pts.
(5) High Jump – 1.88m/6-2, 696 pts.