BATON ROUGE, La. — Day one of the inaugural SEC Relays proved extremely fruitful for the No. 15 Arkansas men’s track and field team as the Razorbacks walked away with one national lead, two event titles and several PRs on Friday afternoon.
No. 1 in the SEC, No. 1 in the NCAA
Junior Kemar Mowatt dethroned former NCAA 400-meter hurdle leader Robert Grant (Texas A&M) in a head-to-head competition which saw Mowatt best Grant by .69 seconds. Mowatt was aggressive from the sound of the gun, attacking each hurdle with an unmatched ferocity. The strategy paid dividends earning him the event title, an NCAA lead and the second-best performance in program history with 49.09. The top three 400 hurdlers in the country, inclusive of Grant, all hail from the SEC.
Barriers No Match for Hogs
Arkansas’ second event win of the day came off the heels of redshirt senior Aidan Swain in the steeplechase. Swain finished the race in 9 minutes 12.83 seconds, securing his place atop the podium. Oregon transfer Kyle Levermore placed second with 9:16.98.
Additional Notable Performances
Sprint medley relay squad of Kenzo Cotton, Josh Washington, Obi Igbokwe and Carlton Orange recorded the third-fastest performance in the program history with 3:15.38.
Western Texas transfer Rhayko Schwartz picked up a new PR in the 400 of 46.13, earning him the runner-up spot in the event. Schwartz is now inside NCAA West region’s top-15.
4-x-800-meter relay team of Cameron Griffith, Ethan Moehn, Austen Dalquist and Cale Wallace raced to a second-place finish, clocking 7:33.21 over the eight-lap race.
Freshman Harrison Schrage marked an all-conditions personal best in the long jump of 7.93m/26-0¼, finishing as the second-best collegiate performer in the competition. Schrage is one of nine student-athletes to mark a jump over 26 feet so far this outdoor season.
Arkansas returns to action tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. with program record-holder Erich Sullins kicking off the day in his signature event, the hammer throw. The Razorbacks are currently sitting in second place in the team standings with 27 points. Men’s and women’s points are combined and teams are scored as one unit.
Points Breakdown: M – 14 / W – 13 (27)
M – SMR: 3rd = 6 pts. | W – SMR: 6th = 3 pts.
M – 4-x-800: 2nd = 8 pts. | W – 4-x-800: 1st = 10 pts.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 29, 12:02 p.m. CT (prime time)
Venue: Bernie Moore Track Stadium
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Live Results | Start Lists
Assistant Coach Doug Case Sounds Off
On Day One of the SEC Relays
“So far it’s been a great track meet. There have been a couple collegiate records already. We ran really fast in the sprint medley and got third, so that was pretty good. Kemar [Mowatt] ran the collegiate lead and that was great for him but I know he has more in the tank. Larry [Donald] ran well in the high hurdles, Rhayko Schwartz hit a PR in the 400. The jumpers started us off pretty well with Harrison [Schrage] getting out to 26 and Aidan Swain closed it out with a win in the steeplechase. All in all a pretty good day.”
SEC Relays
200 Meters: 7. Kevin Harris – 21.10
400 Meters: 2. Rhayko Schwartz – 46.13, 6. Eric Janise – 46.66, 7. Jamarco Steven – 46.91, 8. Roy Ejiakuekwu – 47.54, 9. John Winn – 47.68
110 Meter Hurdles: 6. Larry Donald – 13.96, 11. Travius Chambers – 15.16
400 Meter Hurdles: 1. Kemar Mowatt – 49.09, 3. Larry Donald – 51.20, 6. Travius Chambers – 51.57
Steeplechase: 1. Aidan Swain – 9:12.83, 2. Kyle Levermore – 9:16.98
Sprint Medley Relay: 3. Cotton, Washington, Igbokwe, Orange – 3:15.38
4-x-800 Meter Relay: 2. Griffith, Moehn, Dalquist, Wallace – 7:33.21
Long Jump: 3. Harrison Schrage – 7.93m/26-0¼, 4. Andreas Trajkovski – 7.65m/25-1¼, 11. Brandon Workman – 7.07m/23-2½
Discus: 9. Erich Sullins – 52.30m/171-7
