Razorbacks Share Lead With 14 All-America Honors

Arkansas shared a nation-leading 14 All-America honors for the 2019-20 NCAA Indoor track and field season among the accolades presented by United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Razorbacks had 11 athletes collect 14 All-America honors based on who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which were scheduled to be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in March. However, the NCAA canceled the meet a day prior to its start date due to concerns with the spread of the coronavirus.

Arkansas equaled the highest number of men’s honors presented by USTFCCCA along with Minnesota and Oregon.

Combined, Arkansas men and women totaled 31 honors, producing the leading total over LSU (29), Oregon (25), Florida (22), Kentucky (20) and Texas A&M (20).

A Razorback trio received a pair of All-America honors. Jeremy Farr qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 400m and 4x400m relay, Cameron Griffith qualified in the 3,000m and distance medley relay, while Laquan Nairn qualified in the long jump and triple jump.

Individual honors were awarded to Markus Ballengee (heptathlon), Jalen Brown (4×400), Travean Caldwell (distance medley), Luke George (distance medley), Kris Hari (60m), Lesley Mahlakoane (4×400), Kieran Taylor (distance medley), and Hunter Woodhall (4×400).

Normal policies dictate that All-America honors are awarded based on classifications of performance at the NCAA Championships, with first-team distinction for placing 1-8 and second-team status for placing 9-16.

However, the recognitions for the 2019-20 indoor season will not include distinctions of first-team or second-team.

Since 2012, the Razorback men have the highest total of first-team All-America honors with 202 accolades. Following Arkansas are Florida, 193; Texas A&M, 155; Oregon, 137; LSU, 136; Stanford and Texas, 82; Alabama and Florida State, 72; Texas Tech and USC, 69.

While the outdoor track and field season was canceled due to the pandemic, classes continued in a virtual fashion through the spring semester and the Razorbacks fared very well under the unusual circumstances.

The grade point averages for the Spring 2020 term were 3.658 for the men’s cross country team and 3.280 for the men’s track and field team. This marks the eighth consecutive semester the cross country team earned above a 3.0.

The freshman class had an average over 3.5 with 14 of 15 freshmen earning a GPA above 3.0.