Arkansas’ Bucknam and Johnson each win SEC Coach of the Year honors

Chris Bucknam is in the midst of a legendary run. Chris Johnson is just starting his.

Chris Johnson is in his first year on the job. Chris Bucknam is in his 16th.

On Wednesday, the brand-new Arkansas women’s track-and-field coach and the veteran Arkansas men’s track-and-field coach, shared an honor. They were each named SEC Indoor Coach of the Year.

Johnson was an assistant under former coach Lance Harter before getting the promotion. Harter thought so highly of Johnson that the latter was named coach-in-waiting. This academic year, he took over and his first SEC Championships – the indoors – Johnson led Arkansas to its 10th straight such crown.

And it wasn’t close. Arkansas finished the meet with 131 points, 51 more than the second-place team, and with having generated points in 14 of the 15 events on the slate.

Bucknam led the men’s team to a fifth straight SEC Indoor title, a number which matches how many straight years he has been named league’s Indoor Coach of the Year. This year’s honor marks the 12th time he has earned the award in 16 years at the helm. Bucknam has also won 11 such honors in cross country and eight in the track-and-field outdoor season.

Arkansas athletes pick up four medals in World Indoor Championships.

The World Indoor Championships are no joke and these Hogs showed out.

Tara Davis-Woodhall, Nikki Hitlz, Chris Bailey and Alexis Holmes – all current or former Arkansas track-and-field stars – each medaled over the weekend at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Davis-Woodhall captured gold while the other three each landed a silver medal. She became the first American winner of the long jump since 2016 as she leaped 23-2.5 to capture the gold.

Hiltz won silver medal in the 1,500-meter run. Her time of 4:02.32 made her the first American to ever win silver in the event. She is the first American to medal in the event at all since 2003 when Regina Jacobs won gold.

Chris Bailey ran the anchor leg for the men’s 4×400 relay team to win silver with his compatriots and Alexis Holmes did the same for the women’s 4×400 relay team. The men ran in 3:02.60, a half-step behind Belgium, which ran a 3:02.54. The women finished in 3:25.34 behind Netherlands’ 3:25.07.

All four athletes train in Fayetteville.

Column: For 24 hours the Arkansas athletic department was the most dominant in the country.

Has Arkansas athletic ever had a more dominant 24 hours than what we saw between Friday and Saturday night?

The 2023-24 athletic season has not been kind to Arkansas fans.

Arkansas football failed to make a bowl game for the first time since Coach Sam Pittman came to Arkansas. To add insult to injury, stars like KJ Jefferson, Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, and Chris “Pooh” Paul all left the program, two for SEC foes.

Arkansas Basketball had national championship hopes after beating currently No. 3 ranked Purdue in the preseason and knocking off No. 8 Duke in the ACC/SEC challenge. But the Hogs fell below .500 in conference play for the first time in the Musselman era and now need a miracle to make the NCAA Tournament.

Until this weekend, Arkansas fans haven’t had much to be happy about this athletic year, but Friday night sparked 24 hours of record-breaking and dominant performances across all sports.

It all started with Arkansas baseball’s game against Oregon State. Despite being pulled after just one Inning against James Madison, Lefty Hagen Smith pitched one of the best games anyone in Hog uniform has ever pitched. Smith stuck out 17 of 18 batters in a lineup that could rival any in the country. The Hogs went on to beat the Beavers 5-4.

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the other Diamond Hogs wanted to create history of their own. Left-hander Robyn Herron saw Smith’s performance Friday night and said, “Eh, I can do better than that,” and boy, if she didn’t, she came very close. Herron Pitched a no-hitter for the second time in Arkansas history, beating Illinois State 7-0. She struck out 11 of the 21 batters she faced.

Just because the season has been disappointing for the Hardwood Hogs doesn’t mean they can’t have a day of their own. Khalif Battle went off yesterday in Arkansas’ 88-73 win over Mizzou. The transfer from Temple scored a whopping 42 points. The performance is good for the second-highest single-game point total this century, behind only Rotnei Clarke’s record of 51 points in 2009.

Last but certainly not least, the GymBacks beat No. 6 Kentucky 197.400 to 197.150. The win is against the highest-ranked team Arkansas has beaten since 2016. Their score of 197.400 is also good for tying the 4th highest score ever for the GymBacks.

You can also add in the fact that Arkansas Track and Field swept the SEC Indoor Championships, but that’s just the norm for the most dominant track and field program in the country.

It would be hard to find another 24-hour period where the Arkansas athletic department was so dominant across multiple sports, and it couldn’t have come soon enough for Arkansas fans.

Arkansas golfer picks up third SEC honor…in her fourth tournament ever

In four tournaments, José Marin has been named league’s best frosh three times. That’s unreal, Stacy-Lewis territory.

Maria José Marin may just have a future in this sport called golf, eh?

José Marin, a freshman on the Arkansas women’s golf team, won her third SEC Freshman Golfer of the Week award on Wednesday. Impressive. What makes it wild, though, is that José Marin has played in only four tournaments in her entire collegiate career.

In other words, three out of every four weeks, no first-year golfer in the entire conference is outplaying José Marin. And, by the way, the three Freshman Golfer of the Week honors are the most by a Razorbacks golfer since someone named Stacy Lewis – only the best to ever do it in Fayetteville – won three in 2007-08.

José Marin picked up this week’s award after a dynamite showing at the Purdue Puerto Rico Classic. She shot a 1-under 215 in the three rounds, finishing in a tie for 16th out of the 90 golfers in the tournament. Her final round 67 tied a career best.

Arkansas won the tournament as a team after firing the lowest score of the weeked on the final day, a 276, which was the 12th lowest team round in school history.

José Marin and the Razorbacks are back at things Feb. 18-20 at the Moon Golf Invitational hosted by Louisville.

Arkansas track-and-field ranked nation’s new No. 1

Arkansas’ impressive showing at the Razorbacks Invitational provided the oomph to lift the Hogs over Florida for the top spot.

The Arkansas women’s track-and-field team is the best in the country.

Literally.

A dynamite weekend at the Razorback Invitational lifted Arkansas to top ranking in the nation USTFCCCA women’s national rating index. They sat No. 2 last week, but after dominating their home meet, the Hogs jumped SEC foe Florida for the top spot.

Amber Anning ran the 10th-fastest collegiate 400-meter dash in American history over the weekend clocking a 50.56 time. Later, she ran the lap in 51.05 as part of 10th best 1,600-meter relay time in world history when the Hogs finished the mile (or so) in 3:25.59. To top things, she broke the British 200-meter record with a 22.60 sprint.

After Florida were Oregon, USC, Illinois, Texas A&M, Brigham Young, Washington, Georgia and Oklahoma State in the Top 10.

Other SEC schools ranked are Ole Miss (11th), LSU (12th), Alabama (14th), South Carolina (15th), Kentucky (16th) and Tennessee (17th).

Arkansas is back in action February 9-10 at the Randal Tyson Track Center for the Tyson Invitational.

Jaydon Hibbert, Arkansas’ track-and-field-Heisman winner, to turn pro

Arkansas triple-jumper Jaydon Hibbert will next look to win gold for Jamaica at the Paris Olympics.

Jaydon Hibbert is one and done.

The Arkansas track-and-field star announced Thursday he was turning professional after one year with the Razorbacks. But what a year it was.

Hibbert won both the SEC indoor and outdoor and the NCAA indoor and outdoor national championships in the triple jump. He also set two college records while doing so. That led his winning of the the Bowerman Award, the Heisman trophy equivalent of track-and-field, in December.

“You have been more than just a school to me, You’ve been a family!” Hibbert wrote. “To all my coaches, teammates and professors, you’ve shaped me into the athlete and person I am today! You’ve instilled in me the RAZORBACK spirit which I’ll carry with me on my professional journey!”

Hibbert broke the NCAA record for indoor triple jump in March by bounding 57-6 1/2, besting a total set by Charleston Southern’s Charlie Simpkins back in 1986. Hibbert then broke Keith Connor’s outdoor record of 57-7 3/4 by leaping 58-7 1/2. Connor’s record had held since 1982.

The Paris Olympics begin in about six months and Hibbert is expected to be in the running for a medal in the triple jump for his country of Jamaica. He did not say with whom he was signing professionally when he made his announcement.

These are the 10 Best Arkansas Athletes of 2023

Who was the best player for the Arkansas Razorbacks this season?

The calendar year of 2023 for Arkansas sports as a whole was a bit of a mixed bag.

But on an individual basis, several Hogs athletes made the most of things and had seasons to remember.

Our annual Top 10 Arkansas Athletes list this year includes one baseball player, one softball player, two football players, one women’s basketball player, two men’s basketball players, two volleyball players and a soccer player.

On the honorable mention list: two softball players, one soccer player, one baseball player, one volleyball player, one basketball player.

Check out the complete list of our honorees for the 2023 calendar year below.

Arkansas track and field’s Hibbert wins prestigious Bowerman Award

Jaydon Hibbert took home the most prestigious award a collegiate track and field athlete can win on Thursday night.

Jaydon Hibbert etched his name in the Arkansas track and field’s history books last night in Denver.

The freshman from Jamaica became the first freshman male and the youngest to ever win the Bowerman Award which goes to the top collegiate track & field athlete.

He is only the second Razorback to ever win it, joining Texarkana’s Jarrion Lawson who won it in 2016.

The award comes after Hibbert produced an undefeated collegiate season in the triple jump, including a sweep of the SEC and NCAA titles. He has also broken decades old collegiate and world U20 records while finishing the year as a track and field world leader.

Arkansas is the fourth school to have a pair of men’s winners, joining Florida State, Florida, and Oregon.

Arkansas women’s gymnastics earns preseason No. 15 ranking

The Hogs have been ranked in the Top 15 every season coach Jordyn Wieber has been at Arkansas.

Barnhill Arena has been host to one of the best teams in the nation all fall. Now, into winter, nothing is likely to change.

The Arkansas gymnastics team takes over Barnhill this month fresh on the heels of Razorbacks volleyball. The Hogs are set for an Elite Eight match against Nebraska on Saturday and the gymnastics team could be right behind them after earning a preseason No. 15 ranking.

Arkansas finished last year in 17th after making their 19th consecutive regional where they set school records in team score and floor score.

Coach Jordyn Wieber has had Arkansas in the preseason top-15 in each of the last four years and she has had individual gymnasts make the NCAA Championships each year. Last year, it was Norah Flatley and Lauren Williams.

Williams is back to lead the team in her sophomore season, which the public can get a glimpse at Sunday, December 17 in the Gymback Preview at Barnhill. The regular season begins January 12 at home against Georgia.

Harlem Globetrotters to play at Bud Walton Arena

Will the Washington Generals have a chance? Guess we’ll just have to find out!

The most famous basketball team in the world is heading to Arkansas.

The Harlem Globetrotters will bring their world tour to Bud Walton Arena in April. They will, of course, play the Washington Generals.

Tickets for the general public go on sale November 27.

The Globetrotters have been playing for almost 100 years with their first season coming in 1926. They blend traditional basketball with trick shots, wild dunks and broad comedy and entertainment.

For the youngsters, think Savannah Bananas baseball, only more established.

More than 750 men and women have played for the Globetrotters in their history, of which their goal is to spread the goodwill of basketball.