Arkansas senior pole vaulter Tina Sutej looks to improve on her collegiate record set a season ago. Photo by Media Relations.

Following a week off, Arkansas’ No. 3 women’s track team will face its toughest meet of the early season, hosting the Razorback Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

The meet will include four of the top 10 teams in the nation including No. 2 LSU, No. 5 Texas and No. 9 Florida State.

“We’re very excited about this week,” Arkansas coach Lance Harter said. “This is one of those that’s been highlighted on the calendar since this whole concept came together. The events across the board are simply going to be outstanding.”

Arkansas will enter the event with momentum from a win in the Kentucky Invitational on Jan. 13-14.

That meet was big for the Razorbacks because senior Tina Sutej qualified for nationals in the meet in the pole vault. Assistant Bryan Compton was named National Collegiate Pole Vault Coach of the Year at the national pole vault summit.

“He’s done an outstanding job,” Harter said. “He’s just done a great job.”

The Razorback Invitational will be one of Arkansas’ most competitive meets before the SEC Championships in late February.

“One of the adages we go by is you’d better run fast or you get run over and this is definitely one of those meets where that can happen,” Harter said. “With this many ranked teams, we’re really looking forward to some great, great competition.”

The Razorbacks won their first two meets of the indoor season, but a win this weekend would be a marquee accomplishment.

“This is not a practice meet, this is the real deal,” Harter said. “You had better be prepared because you get burned real easily. Primarily it is a clash of NCAA superstars. I’m anxious to see what the fields look like. We’re going to take advantage of every opportunity we can on Friday and especially Saturday.

“Our all-Americans that are back need to defend their honor, our newcomers need to step in and contribute. If you don’t, you can slide down the polls just as easily as move up.”

The meet will be hosted at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville. It starts at 11 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.