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Men's Track & Field/Cross Country

Athlete Spotlight : Johnathan Jones

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Johnathan Jones has been leaving his mark on every track he’s touched across the country during this current season with the UA Little Rock Track and Field Team. Since his middle school years, Jones has specialized in the high jump event, jumping for Pulaski Heights and moved on to jump for Central High School.

Jones was redshirted during his Freshman year, but the amount of recognition he has received this year definitely makes up for it. Jones was honored with the award of Silver Medalist in the Sun Belt Conference and has broken U-A Little Rock’s school record a stunning total of four times.

Jones is also the school record holder for indoor and outdoor, tied for 17th in the nation for indoor, and notably cleared 7’1 (2.16 meters) at the South Alabama Invitational in February of this year.

Of course, to get this type of recognition and earn these levels of success, work has to be put in behind the scenes. At times it can be difficult, but Jones says that he faces these challenges head-on by living by the mantra, “Believe in yourself because hard work is worthless for those that don’t believe in themselves.”

Undoubtedly, Johnathan Jones is an athlete to watch out for. His skills and potential are more than impressive, and he can only continue to become greater.

Athlete Spotlight: Cameron Jackson

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Cameron Jackson, a sprinter for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been recognized with the Freshman of the Year award for the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track Awards. He is the first freshman in the history of UA Little Rock to receive this award.

“It means a lot considering I am the first freshman to get the award but hopefully not the last. My coach had kind of warned me. He texted me one night ‘Hey, be checking Sun Belt media tomorrow, exciting news is coming,’” said Jackson. “I think the anticipation of him figuring out who Freshman of the Year was greater than mine. It’s pretty great, definitely couldn’t have done it without God, my family and my team.”

Jackson runs as the anchor in the 4×1 relay, 100m and 200m outdoor races and 60m and 200m indoor races. The award came after the race at the indoor conference championship meet where Jackson ran a 6.75 sec 60m race.

Many athletes discover their talent at a young age and develop it as they grow. However, that was not the case with Jackson. He tried many sports and ultimately decided to focus on track his last year of middle school and because of his talent, practicing in college was a goal of his.

“It’s the [knowledge that you are good at it,” said Jackson. “You are capable of competing at the collegiate level as well as the lifestyle that I have always wanted for myself.”

Coming from Kilgore, a small town in east Texas, Jackson knew that challenges laid ahead when moving to college, especially due to the closeness of his family. His father had a significant impact on him developing his skills as a runner. However, when he came to visit UA Little Rock, he felt comfortable and at home.

“Coach [Behnke] found a way to let me know that he was always there,” said Jackson. “‘If you have any questions about the recruiting process let me know, I am not going to rush you into the process.’ Most of my other schools were like ‘we are going to offer, and we need an answer within a week.’ Coach Behnke was like ‘well take your time, we do hope you choose us’ and he was really adamant about getting me here and him constantly checking in, calling, even the small things, just let me know that he really wanted me to be at this university.”

Jackson had several great college options but in visiting UA Little Rock, Coach Behnke was the deciding factor in him committing. Behnke has also had a positive impact on Jackson and developing his skills into a more well-rounded athlete and sprinter. His selflessness as a coach has also influenced Jackson into becoming more self-aware.

“When you come from watching your coach put everybody, 80, 90 people ahead of himself all the time, it really changes your point of view of how you view a lot of things and how you react to a lot of situations,” said Jackson. “Behnke has always kept his cool, kept his calm, everything he handles in a professional manner. So after watching him do that constantly, it just drives me even more to be a better person.”

Jackson knows that he has made history with this accomplishment, but he is just getting started. He has various goals that he hopes to accomplish in the next three years of his academic and athletic career at UA Little Rock.

“[Some] goals that I’m hoping to have accomplished by the end of my career at UALR include successfully getting my degree, making new family members instead of just teammates, and winning a conference title,” said Jackson.

Aside from Jackson’s award, the Trojans received six all-conference honors, the most the program has received since 2011.

Jackson has so much future ahead of him and he is excited and optimistic for what is to come.

South Alabama Jaguar Invitational Indoor Track Meet

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It was an exciting meet for the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Track and Field team Feb. 7, 2021. The South Alabama University’s Jaguar Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama revealed how the athletes’ hard work has been paying off, and brought newfound confidence for The SunBelt Conference which will occur on the dates Feb. 22, 2021 and Feb. 23, 2021. Ever since Head Coach Johnathon Behnke took over the team almost three years ago, he has worked to make UALR track more competitive. After this meet, he was confident in reporting that Arkansas-Little Rock is now a threat in the Sun Belt Conference. 

There were many highlights from this meet with Arkansas-Little Rock student athletes. Competing against fifteen other strong southern schools in the NCAA only made the Trojans look more intimidating. Multiple athletes broke personal and school records to set forth new ones: allowing the team to place high in the NCAA. 

In men’s high jumping, sophomore Johnathon Jones not only set a new Personal Record of 7’1, but is now ranked second in the Sun Belt conference and eighth nationally. This is extremely impressive considering he had red-shirted last indoor season competing unattached with a PR of 6’11.50. Compared to his competition, Jones feels he is in a good place right now to remain in the top ten, but has plenty of work ahead of him if he wants to make top five. Despite a recent obstacle that has presented itself in the form of a nagging knee problem ,with proper care, Jones will be able to overcome this injury to have a great conference.

An intersquad battle ensued during the 800 meter men’s race as sophomore Colby Swecker, junior Ricardo Banks , and freshman Logan Nelson gave the other schools a run for their money. The first 200 is well-known as the hardest part of the 800 as it can not be run too fast or the runner will suffer later on. As the men stayed relaxed for the first 400 as they should, Swecker was feeling confident and made a move to pass a preceding runner and Banks followed instantly. Working together, they moved up through the ranks finishing hard and placing well. In their heat, Swecker took second and Banks third: overall finishing sixth and seventh. For his first season running indoor track Nelson running and finishing the way he did was impressive. He took 13th overall. On top of this, all three set new personal records where Swecker ran a 1:53.79, Banks a 1:53.95, and Nelson a 1:57.04.

Speeding things up to the men’s 60 meter race, freshman Cameron Jackson set a new personal record of 6.77 seconds and ranked second in the Sun Belt conference. From the gun to the finish line in heat 2 lane 4, Jackson was  relentless in the race. Jackson was also able to beat the 200 meter top runner during this race. He qualified for finals where he ran in lane 3 and took first. Based on these races, Jackson has set himself up nicely for having a chance at winning conference in his event.

Gaining new distance in men’s weight throw, sophomore Isaiah Parker did something extraordinary. Parker’s first throw went 15 meters which was a personal record. For his second throw, he beat his brand new personal record immediately with a throw of 16.28 meters. Clearly training has been going well as he has gotten the technique down for the spin, and followed it with a powerful throw. The key to conference for Parker will be further improving his technique in order to be successful.

In the women’s mile, senior and women’s distance captain, Kimberly Boni, broke new ground in her collegiate athlete career. Boni ran an impressive 5:16 mile which ranked her as 16th in Conference. After three years of battling multiple injuries, Boni has made this year different. Since cross country season in the fall, she has been preparing for the conference race and by trusting in her training and coaches, Boni is expected to triumph. 

Persistence and intense focus is what led freshman Avianna Trinidad to reach new heights in women’s pole vaulting. Trinidad continued to clear each jump smoothly making it over the bar. It wasn’t until the fifth jump, though, that there was victory. Trinidad tied the Arkansas-Little Rock school record with a height of 12’5 meters. 

In the women’s 60 meter race, Little Rock athletes set two personal records. It began with the block starts. Neither one wasted a single second taking full advantage of their opportunities. Kendall Johnson ran a 7.71 second dash, and Maliyah Holland a 7.84 making for two very smooth and fast races. Both are expected to do well at conference.

During this season, indoor track athletes have already faced some big challenges including limited meets and competition due to COVID, along with no spectators or fans at the meets. Despite these challenges, their dedication and persistence keeps them moving forward. The Arkansas-Little Rock track team has become increasingly mentally motivated to take advantage of every opportunity to improve. “What I have learned from this sport so faris to bet on yourself,” Jones said. “The bar will always go up and if your confidence doesn’t move when the bar does then you’ll never clear it”.

Cardinal and Patria Lead Little Rock at UCA Open.

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Conway, AR—The LR Trojans began their 2020 Cross Country season at the Central Arkansas Open, presented by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Due to COVID-19, social distancing rules were enforced, teams wore face masks until the starter was ready and starting boxes were spaced out during the race.

Freshman Spencer Cardinal led the Trojan men, finishing 8th place with a time of 16:04:8. Junior Carter Reynolds came in 14th place, finishing with a time of 16:19. Freshman Aaron Soltmann finished 17th with a time of 16:37.8. With a total time of 1:23:14 and a score of 63, the LR Trojan men placed 3rd place.

Freshman Mia Patria led the Trojan women, placing 12th place with a time of 19:43.1. Not too far from Patria, senior Vianney Sanchez finished 18th place with a time of 20:18.6 while senior Kimberly Boni placed 20th with a time of 20:26.7. The LR Trojan women placed third place with a score of 80 and time of 1:42:28.

Despite falling short to Arkansas State and Central Baptist, Cardinal and Patria dominated Philander Smith in endurance leading their team to score 3rd place at the Governor’s I-40 Showdown. The LR Trojan men and women began their 2020 Cross Country season off at a good start by placing in the top three spots in both races at the Central Arkansas Open.

UCA Open Final Results

 

 

Coaching Spotlight: Alan Webb

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Alan Webb is a record-holder and an Olympian, but he has recently moved to Arkansas to take over an associate head cross country and assistant track coach position for athletics here at UA Little Rock.

In 2007, Webb ran his best season professionally. He beat the previous American record in the mile in July of that year, with a time of 3:46.91, breaking the previously held 25-year-old record of 3:47.69. He also ran the 4th fastest 1500 meter time by an American at the time, with a time of 3:30.54.

Webb knew he loved running from a young age, but wanted to keep working to get better. 

“I got into running in elementary school, when they had the mile run, and I did well, and I liked seeing myself improve,” he said. “I felt like when I would prepare and practice, I grew and got better. I fell in love with the improvement part of it.”

When Webb was able to run in high school, he jumped to take advantage of the opportunity. 

“I wanted to get better and once I got to high school, I fully committed to running,” he said. “I succeeded a lot in high school and set some records I never dreamt of setting when I started running. Still, I didn’t set goals until they were realistic and achievable.”

The journey to the Olympics for Webb was different than that of other Olympians.

“Going to the Olympics was accomplishing one of my lifetime goals,” he said. “I struggled some after high school, but I felt like I persevered and really put my head down the fall of 2003 and worked harder than I’d ever worked before. I did more than I’d ever done. By the time I got to the trials, I had improved in mental toughness, speed and strength. I was proud to overcome that down part of my life.”

Being an Olympian is not the only part of his life that Webb is proud of.

“I would say what I’m most proud of is that once my running career ended, I had the perspective to recognize what is most important to me,” he said. “Having my faith and becoming much stronger in my faith in God led me to be a better husband, better father and I hope a better coach, too. It helped me recognize the high, high value in helping others. My new calling as a coach has come from that. I realized I have all these experiences as a runner, and I can give all that back to other athletes.”

Once Webb knew he wanted to be a coach, he started seeking out opportunities to be a full-time coach.

“I was living in Portland before Little Rock and we didn’t want to move, but I knew being a collegiate coach would require that,” he said. “That just led me to realize I wasn’t doing what I should be doing. I missed being fully into track and field, I didn’t want running to be part time. I applied [at UA Little Rock]. I felt like coming here was a place that very much interested me, because I felt like I could win here. The program as a whole is being built up and I felt like I could move things in the right direction with the distance runners. It goes back to wanting to improve with running, it’s the same with coaching.”

His care for his athletes and the students he works with shows in each and every one of his interactions and words.

“I love the athletes, getting to know them and getting to know what they need as athletes, and trying my 100 percent best to help guide them so they can accomplish their goals is my favorite part [of campus],” he said. “If I can help them get better at running, I know it can help in other areas. There’s a genuine need to have a coach be an objective servant of an athlete. It’s proven that the most successful athletes have a coach. I benefited greatly from my coaches, and I want to be that for them.”   

Webb has high hopes for the UA Little Rock’s running program in the future.

“The first thing is that I want everyone to get better,” he said. “Everyone should leave better than they came, and if we can do that, I’d like to win some championships with the team and individually. It’d be nice to get people their own wins. The process to get there is to create the right culture where everybody is here to work hard and give 100 percent effort on and off the track.”

Every piece of advice Webb gives about running to his athletes is peppered with the passion he has for the sport and coaching.

“Don’t focus too much on the end result, focus more on the process of pushing yourself and set realistic, intermediate goals,” he said. “Nobody can guarantee an end result, but you can control how you go about each day. You have to enjoy the work and pushing yourself. You won’t get anywhere without that. Love the work that you do. If you enjoy working hard, you will get better.”

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