Hogs, Aggies set for track, field test

FAYETTEVILLE - Arkansas and Texas A&M will compete on bigger stages this outdoor season at the SEC and NCAA track and field meets, but the nation’s top two men’s teams will get an idea of what to expect from each other when they go at it Saturday in the John McDonnell Invitational.

The No. 1 Aggies and No. 2 Razorbacks also will be joined by No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 22 Minnesota in a meet that will be highlighted with running events from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m at McDonnell Field.

“In a 15-round fight, it might be like what you’d see in the first five rounds,” Arkansas Coach Chris Bucknam said of facing the Aggies. “It’s still early. We’re not going to show all of our cards, they’re not going to show all of theirs.

“It’s a little bit of a chess game here and there. It will be fun to see what they do and how they compete against us. You’re going to see some good races.”

The meet will be scored, which Bucknam said is something he wants to see happen more often for fans and competitors.

“We truly believe that’s the wave of the future, to score meets,” Bucknam said. “People want to see us compete and know where the Razorbacks finished, and with a score at the end, we’re better able to grade our program.”

Bucknam said he expects the Razorbacks, who won the NCAA indoor title, to do well Saturday, even though some athletes will be in events other than their specialities, and some younger ones will be getting their shot to compete.

“We feel we should be able to move our people around, put some different people in the mix, and still come out on top,” Bucknam said. “We can develop our team but still get ready to compete for SEC and national titles.”

Saturday’s women’s competition also has an impressive field with No. 1 Kansas, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 12 Arkansas.