FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Heading into the 2003 indoor track and field season the Arkansas track and field team found itself ranked second in the Trackwire pre-season poll with 48 points. The Razorbacks are one of eight Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the top 10.
"We're young and we don't have a lot of depth," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. "Most of our strength lies in the distance events, with a couple in the hurdles and jumps. The ranking is probably about right. Second place is a good place to be. There are a lot of good teams ranked up with us, like LSU and Tennessee. It just tells you how tough the SEC is."
LSU received the number one ranking with 59 points. The Tennessee Volunteers came in third with 36 points, while South Carolina tallied 29 points for fourth place. Alabama (22) is tied with TCU for seventh. Auburn took the ninth spot with 20 points, while Mississippi State and Florida round out the top ten 10 with 18 points.
The Razorbacks will kick-off the indoor season when they host the SEC West Challenge at Randal Tyson Track Center on Saturday, January 18. The first men's field event is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., with the 1,600-meter relay wrapping up the day at 4:40 p.m.
The Trackwire poll is a power ranking of NCAA Division I track and field teams. This rankings methodology takes into account a variety of statistical predictors and is intended to project the outcome of the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 14-15. The scores provided with the rankings indicate each team's projected score based on form charts for each NCAA event.
