The University of Arkansas men’s track and field team flew to the lead at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships as Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock finished first and second in the long jump on Wednesday night at Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
McLeod, a senior transfer from Tennessee, won by going 27 feet, 1 3/4 inches on his first attempt.
Pinnock, a sophomore who won last year’s NCAA long jump outdoors when he also was at Tennessee, took second with a 26-9 mark on his second attempt. He edged Kentucky freshman Jordan Tucker, who was third at 26-8 3/4.
McLeod swept this year’s NCAA long jump titles. He won the indoor title with a 27-6 1/2 leap while Pinnock took fourth to help the Razorbacks win the national team championship in Albuquerque, N.M.
McLeod and Pinnock led No. 1-ranked Arkansas to the team lead Wednesday night through six of 21 events scored with 21 points.
Stanford, which got a 1-2 finish from Ky Robinson and Charles Hicks in the 10,000 meters, is second with 18 points.
Arkansas senior Jordan West, also a transfer from Tennessee, took seventh in the shot put with a throw of 65-8 1/2. Senior Roje Stona finished 14th at 63-10 1/2.
Patrick Kiprop, a sophomore for the Razorbacks, took eighth in the 10,000 in 28.27.54.
In a shocking development for Arkansas, senior Ayden Owens-Delerme failed to advance to the final of the 400-meter hurdles after having the nation’s top time (48.26 seconds) coming into the meet.
Owens-Delerme, the defending NCAA champion in the decathlon who experienced some knee tendonitis earlier this year, has focused on the 400 hurdles this season. The plan had gone well until Wednesday night — including winning titles at the SEC meet and NCAA West Prelims — when he ran 49.82 and finished third in his heat.
Owens-Delerme had the 10th-fastest time in the semifinals and missed making the final by one spot.
LSU junior Sean Burrell, the two-time defending NCAA champion, also failed to make the final. He ran 49.84 and had the 11th-fastest time while finishing fourth in his heat.
Alabama junior Chris Robinson, who took second to Owens-Delerme at the SEC meet, had the top qualifying time at 48.79.
Arkansas junior Phillip Lemonious ran a personal-best 13.28 to take the top time in the 110-meter hurdles semifinals and advance to the final.
Through five events of the decathlon Arkansas junior Yariel Soto Torrado is fifth with 4,266 points. Razorbacks senior Daniel Spejcher is 18th with 3,877 points. Junior Marcus Weaver, who took second at the SEC meet, didn’t finish the 400 and is in 23rd with 3,002 points.
Texas junior Leo Neugebauer leads the decathlon with 4,597 points and Georgia junior Kyle Garland, the collegiate record holder and this year’s SEC champion, is second with 4,570.
The Razorbacks’ 1,600 relay advanced to the final as Lance Lang, James Benson, Connor Washington and Christopher Bailey ran 3:00.97 in Wednesday night’s final event.
In the meet’s first event the 400 relay of Lang, Washington, Tre’Bien Gilbert and Benson ran a season-best 39.23, but didn’t advance to the final.
Bailey ran 45.55 to take 14th in the 400 semifinals and didn’t advance.
Arkansas State University junior Aimar Palma Simo finished 20th in the hammer (220-6) and junior Bradley Jelmert was 21st in the pole vault (17-4 1/2).
South Alabama junior won the pole vault (18-8 1/4) and Harvard junior Kenneth Ikeji won the hammer (255-8).
Women’s events begin today with No. 3 Arkansas led by juniors Britton Wilson the 400 and 400 hurdles, Amanda Fassold in the pole vault and Ackera Nugent in the 100 hurdles.
Mitchell Gladstone from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contributed information for this report.