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The Florida Gators track and field teams travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the two-day 2013 Arkansas Invitational that begins today at 2:00 p.m. ET. Joining the Gators and Razorbacks inside the Randal Tyson Track Center will be other top ranked teams such as FSU, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, among others.
The two-day event will also provide the Gators with an opportunity to improve their standing in the latest USTFCCCA Poll (to be released on January 29th) due to both the men's and women's team falling a bit in the January 22nd edition of the polls. Why you ask? Because of the twenty-two teams entered into the field, fourteen of them are ranked in the Top 25 of the latest USTFCCCA Poll.
In case you're wondering, those ranked teams are: No. 1 Arkansas, No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Texas, No. 13 Arizona and No. 21 Florida State on the men's side and No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 LSU, No. 12 Arizona, No. 13 Texas, No. 16 Georgia, No. 17 Baylor and No. 23 Nebraska.
The men's team, despite a strong showing at the 2013 Gator Invite, fell one spot to No. 3 as the Texas A&M Aggies ran past them due to an arguably even stronger performance at the 2013 Texas A&M Triangular. The women's team fell two spots to No. 7 as both Texas A&M and Arkansas flew past them and into the Top 5.
As for the Gators competing, well, it's a full lineup this week. The entire roster is set to go as the Gators get their first taste when it comes to seeing just exactly where they stand against some of the top teams in the country. It should also give some of the underclassmen on the rosters a chance to familiarize themselves with the Randal Tyson Track Center which is hosting both the SEC Indoor and NCAA Indoor Championships later this year.
In action on Friday (men): Max Lang (pole vault), Marquis Dendy (long jump), Luka Mustafic and Kyle Strawn (shot put), Dedric Dukes and Leonardo Seymore (200 meters), Phil Duncan (5,000 meters), Eddie Lovett and Moriel Pitt (60 meter hurdles prelims) and the distance medley relay.
In action on Friday (women): Lorriane Graham (pentathlon), Taylor Burke and Alexis Muniz (high jump), Robin Reynolds (long jump), Darshay Davis and Shayla Sanders (60 meter prelims), Ebony Eutsey, Destinee Gause, Bria Goodson and Kyra Jefferson (200 meters), Grace VanDeGrift (5,000 meters), Katrina Dekrey, Ashley Favors, Paige Morton and Ugonna Ndu (60 meter hurdles prelims) and the distance medley relay.
In action on Saturday (men): Omar Craddock (triple jump), David Levin, Strawn and Triassi (weight throw), Michael Burris, Najee Glass, Hugh Graham Jr., Arman Hall, Tyler Osorio and Jovon Toppin (400 meters), Ryan Schnulle and Daniel Wehunt (800 meters), Sean Obinwa (800 meters invite), Jimmy Clark, Eddie Garcia, JL Hines, Josh Izewski and Matt Mizereck (3,000 meters), Mark Parrish (3,000 meters invite), Lovett and Pitt (60 meter hurdles, if advanced) and both "A" and "B" teams in the 4x400 meter relay.
In action on Saturday (women): Ciarra Brewer (triple jump), Jayla Bostic (weight throw), Davis and Sanders (60 meters, if advanced), Amani Bryant, Eutsey, Reynolds and Lanie Whittaker (400 meters), Mandy Perkins and Stephanie Strasser (one mile), Callie Cooper, Cory McGee, Florence Ngetich and Agata Strausa (3,000 meters invite), Dekrey, Favors, Morton and Ndu (60 meter hurdles, if advanced) and both "A" and "B" teams in the 4x400 meter relay.
You can follow all the action live and up-to-the-minute courtesy of Flash Results and their dedicated Arkansas Invitational webpage. Within that webpage, you'll notice that they've also setup a separate page for the posting of field event results. Flash Results also has provided a copy of the schedule, rules, regulations and scoring procedures for the meet and it is available in PDF form for free.
Also, if you happen to have a subscription to RazorVision (yes, it's exactly like GatorVision), you can stream all the events live on your computer, tablet or mobile device.
*As always when available, heat sheets (or performance lists) are provided by GatorZone, and Alligator Army will only reproduce and list Gator participants unless otherwise noted.