Not having an on-campus track hasn’t stopped the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff men’s track and field team from having a presence on the national stage.
“Yeah, we ain’t got all the bells and whistles we want, but we get it done,” said Head Coach Christopher McCoy. “We don’t worry about what we don’t have. We go out here, and we compete. That’s the chip we have on our shoulder. So, we don’t have it. We’re going to go out here and beat the people who do have it. That’s what I look for.”
UAPB practices across town at Pine Bluff High School’s track, which closed Monday so the school can begin constructing a new one.
The Golden Lions have seen what other schools have after competing in meets hosted by schools such as University of Arkansas Fayetteville, University of Texas, Texas Christian University and Texas A&M University. Many such schools have not only their own track, but entire stadiums built exclusively for track and field.
Not having those things hasn’t stopped UAPB, which is sending one individual and one relay team to Eugene, Ore., to compete in the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field beginning Wednesday on ESPN.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Junior relay runner Ross Walrond said having to drive a few minutes off campus to practice hasn’t impacted the Golden Lions’ ability to compete with the wealthiest schools.
“It really shows our dedication and determination to what we do here at UAPB,” Walrond said. “We don’t have a whole lot, but we make do with what we have. Like Coach says all the time, ‘You don’t need all the bells and whistles. You just need to have the heart.’ And we have the heart.”
Walrond will join senior Jared Sylvester, senior Dwight Henry and freshman Avindale Smith in the 4×100-meter relay semifinals at 6:05 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, the first running event of the week. Sophomore sprinter Jordan Pierre will run in the 400-meter dash semifinals at 7:41 p.m.
In both semifinals, the top two finishers in each heat plus the next best three times will advance to Friday’s finals.
Although the Golden Lions have found success without their own track, UAPB has been planning to build one on campus. The school issued a Request for Qualification in May 2023, soliciting firms interested in managing the construction of a new track and soccer stadium.
A UAPB spokesperson told The Commercial the school is now leaning toward expanding upon the existing soccer field while building the track and field facilities in an area between H.O. Clemmons Arena and Simmons Bank Field.
McCoy said UAPB is finalizing its plans and should begin construction “soon,” though he did not provide a precise date. He estimated it would take eight months to complete from the start of construction.
In the meantime, the Golden Lions earned the right to travel to Oregon two weeks ago at the NCAA West First Round hosted by Texas A&M.
Pierre ran the 400-meter dash in 45.75 seconds in the quarterfinals in College Station, Texas. He finished 0.007 seconds behind University of California Los Angeles sophomore Gabriel Clement II, who claimed the final automatic qualifying spot in the first heat.
That meant Pierre had to sit and watch as the second and third heats ran, waiting for those times to appear on the video board to find out whether he was going to Eugene.
“That’s that anxiety building up,” Pierre said. “You feel real anxious, especially seeing two other people run faster than what you just ran, and they (were) in the heat behind you. You start to feel anxious. But I (saw) that I had qualified after everything cooled down. I was like, ‘Yes. Let’s go.'”
Pierre’s time in the quarterfinals was seventh best in the West region. He outran seven South Eastern Conference (SEC) sprinters, including three from the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The relay team had already qualified by that point after finishing second in its heat. UAPB’s time of 38.98 seconds was just 0.09 seconds behind Southern California of the Big Ten.
UAPB was the only team in the top six in the West region not from the SEC or Big Ten. Sylvester said the Golden Lions worked hard after missing a trip to Eugene by two spots last season in the 4×400, when the First Round was held in Fayetteville.
“We felt pretty confident having to stand up against them and be able to be right next to them,” Sylvester said. “It just says a lot, that we are up there, and we could compete with any school out there.”
The 4×100 team traveled to College Station as SWAC champions after winning the event at the SWAC championships, hosted by Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Winning a gold medal wasn’t the only thing the team did in Baton Rouge. The Golden Lions broke a 37-year-old SWAC Championships record with their 39.17-second run.
McCoy said UAPB didn’t enter the event aiming for the record, which had been 39.35.
“Last year, we won the SWAC championship, and we ran a 39.7,” McCoy said. “Our anchor leg, Ross, he showboated the last 20 meters. So, this year, I told him don’t do that. Run through the line. Let’s run for a time. I was shooting for 39.4, but (to) see 39.1, that was even better.”
UAPB has been represented at the NCAA Championships the past few seasons by high jumper Caleb Snowden, whose eligibility expired at the end of the indoor season earlier this year.
He may be gone, but these sprinters have ensured UAPB will still have a presence in Oregon. It will be their Hayward Field debut, and the first trip to NCAAs can be a challenge for athletes not familiar with competing at that level. When Snowden made his first trip to the NCAAs in 2023, he finished 11th in the high jump. A year later, he finished third.
Sylvester said this year, the goal is to advance beyond Wednesday’s semifinals.
“I think we’re looking forward to making it to the finals and being All-Americans,” Sylvester said. “I think once we reach into the finals, we’ll be very pleased. I think if we get top three, that would be even better, but just making the finals will be good.”
First Team All-American status is bestowed upon any athlete or team who finishes top eight. Second Team status goes to the rest of the top 16. Nine make the finals.
Between the two qualifying sites, UAPB’s 4×100 time was the ninth best, while Pierre’s time in the 400 meters was 19th.
Walrond, like Sylvester, said making the finals are the goal.
“It won’t be easy,” Walrond said. “We know that for sure, so we know that we have to put our best foot forward, and we have to make these baton exchanges even better and just run as fast as possible.”