FAYETTEVILLE — The meat of Arkansas' indoor track season begins today with the Tyson Invitational at the Tyson Indoor Track Center. Events begin at noon today with finals beginning at 7 p.m. and resuming at 12: 40 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
No. 18 Auburn, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 14 Baylor, Clemson, No. 3 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 22 Georgia, Illinois, No. 13 Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, No. 21 Kentucky, Liberty, No. 5 LSU, Miami, Mississippi State, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 23 Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, No. 4 Oregon, No. 15 Penn State, No. 19 South Carolina, No. 11 Stanford, TCU, Tulsa and No. 12 Virginia Tech join the No. 8 Razorbacks and No. 11 Lady Razorbacks in a meet that will serve as a preview for the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships.
This year Arkansas hosts both the SEC Championships, Feb 26-28, and the NCAA Championships, March 12-13.
The Razorbacks currently hold eight NCAA provisional qualifiers: freshman Drew Butler in the 800 meters, senior Dorian Ulrey, senior Scott MacPherson and sophomore Lane Boyer in the 3,000 meters, freshman Brede Raa Ellingsen in the high jump, senior Alain Bailey and sophomore Tarik Batchelor in the long jump and sophomore Terry Prentice in the heptathlon.
Senior Katie Stripling and sophomore Tina Sutej have already punched their tickets to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March in Fayetteville. Both cleared the auto pole vault height of 13-11.25 at the 2010 opener. Williams and George in the 400 meters, freshman Stephanie Brown and sophomore Kristen Gillespie in the 800 meters and Brown in the mile all dipped below the NCAA provisional qualifier. The Razorbacks also picked up provisional qualifiers from senior Janice Keppler in the pole vault, in the 4x400-meter and distance medley relays.
NWA RAZORBACK CLUB BASEBALL BANQUET
In baseball, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains, according to the character Crash Davis of "Bull Durham" fame. And in collegiate baseball sometimes it snows.
Wintry weather force the Northwest Arkansas Razorback Club to postponed its annual Baseball Banquet until 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15 at the Bentonville High "South Commons."
Razorbacks head baseball coach Dave Van Horn will be on hand to look back at the Razorbacks trip to the College World Series last summer and more importantly preview the upcoming season, which begins Feb. 19-21 with a three-game series against Ball State at Baum Stadium.
Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for guests and free for children 12 and under.
For more information on the banquet and the NWA Razorback Club, click here.
SANCHEZ'S STATUS UNDEFINED
Former Springdale Har-Ber High star Michael sanchez has almost become a forgotten man to fans for the Razorbacks basketball team. The 6-8 forward,who started the bulk of the Razorbacks' games as a redshirt freshman in 2009, has only played in four games this season because of the painful plantar faciitis, injury to his feet.
Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said he has spoken a little with the intense power forward, whose mom played basketball for the Lady Backs and father ran track for the Hogs, but added he, Sanchez, his parents and Arkansas' doctors to determine what the young man's future may be with the program.
“I think we’re trying to figure out what we’re going to do here the rest of the season and then we can probably figure out what the other options are at,” Pelphrey said.
The NCAA has granted athletes hardship seasons even if he has redshirted previously in some cases, but such a petition is putting the cart before the horse. Sanchez would have at least two seasons of eligibility after this one, but with plantar faciitis being a chronic condition, the real question maybe will the condition improve enough for Sanchez to return at all.
