Arkansas freshman Gunnar Nixon, who was competing in his first collegiate meet, set the world junior record Saturday at the Razorback Invitational. Photo by UA Media Relations.

Arkansas freshman Gunnar Nixon didn’t waste much time making an impact in collegiate career.

Nixon set the new junior world record in the heptathlon, winning the event at the Razorback Invitational with a score of 6,022.

He broke the 23-year-old record score of 5,953.

“I had no idea until coming into mid day today coach told me what the point totals were and I was like ‘Oh wow, I have a chance to go for it,’” Nixon said.

The heptathlon consists of the 60-meter dash, 1,000-meter run, 60-meter hurdles, high jump, pole vault, long jump and shot put.

Nixon placed first in the long jump, second in the high jump and third in the 1,000-meter, 60-meter hurdles and shot put.

“He knows he just has to come out every day and work hard,” assistant coach Travis Geopfert said. “We talk about focusing on the process and if you do that good things will happen. Every day at practice he just focuses on what he needs to do and getting it done.”

Nixon was making his collegiate debut.

“I think he obviously needs to get a lot stronger as he gets older,” Geopfert said. “With his frame he can put on a little bit of mass and his throws are gonna improve, his pole vaults are gonna improve a lot. And we have to keep working on his jumps, which are already good.”

Despite setting the world record, Nixon isn’t satisfied.

“This is just something to build off of,” Nixon said. “Coming into this first meet I wanted to do well. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I just wanted to do my best in each event and see where the points lie in the end. I came up with a good result using that strategy.”

Nixon became the first youngest athlete to break 6,000 in the event and the first athlete younger than 20. He is also only the fifth athlete to break 6,000.

Nixon was a highly-decorated athlete in high school, running track at Sante Fe High School in Edmond Okla. Nixon was ranked the No. 1 decathlete in the nation.

He also was named the Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. He set three national high school records in the decathalon.

“(I am) starting out with a clean slate,” Nixon said. “Every event that I do in college, the first time I do it, that’s my new PR. I just have to build off that. Training is so much different. In high school when I went to a track meet, I was pretty fresh every track meet, here we train through track meets in order to stay in shape and not peak too early.”

Nixon’s goal for the event was 6,000, before he even knew it was a record, he said.

“I actually didn’t know what the world junior record was coming in,” Nixon said. “I just knew that 6,000 point barrier would be something awesome to achieve. All the guys were encouraging me.” said Nixon “they were giving me like everything like ‘Come on man, you got this.’ They just helped me a long the way.”

Despite being a freshman, Nixon has meshed with his teammates well, Geopfert said.

“It’s a great group of guys and Gunnar fits in real well,” Geopfert said. “Gunnar and (sophomore) Kevin (Lazas) push each other and cheer for each other at the same time. When you get a dynamic like that, two guys that put their egos aside and just want to help each other improve. That’s a special combination. I’m really proud of both of them.”

Nixon has the potential to be the first athlete in track history to record multiple 6,000s.

“I don’t see any records after this very soon, just trying to improve myself in every event and wherever the point lie, that’s how it will turn out,” Nixon said.