Indoor Champions Crowned

It has been a busy stretch in track and field arenas as the NCAA crowned the Texas women and the Arkansas men its indoor collegiate champions. Meanwhile Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia and Gabriela Szabo of Romania each scored double wins in the 1500 and 3000 meters at the 7th International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Indoor Championships. Texas and Arkansas successfully defended their team titles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships on March 6. The championship was Arkansas' third-consecutive title and 15th in the last 16 years. The Hogs compiled 165 points while Stanford took second with 42.5 points. Clemson was third with 28 points.

"Once again Stanford was our stiffest challenger. We have developed quite a rivalry over the past few years," Arkansas coach John McDonnell said. "This championship was unique in that we won with depth rather than a handful of athletes scoring most of our points."

Arkansas entered the 3000 leading Stanford by three points. A second-place finish by Michael Power of Arkansas in 7:55.36, who was followed across the line by teammate Sean Kaley (7:56.31), put some distance between the two teams. Arkansas' Matt Kerr finished sixth with a time of 7:58.43. Only Stanford's Brad Hauser finished in scoring position when he placed fifth. Another big highlight for the Hogs was the triple jump victory by Melvin Lister. His winning leap was 55 feet and three-fourths of an inch.

"The key to victory was our depth," McDonnell said. "We only won one individual title. It's been a while since that has happened to us. In the 3000, we had three of our best against three of Stanford's best. We finished second, third and sixth while only one of their runners scored. That proved decisive. While we only won the triple jump, we had several athletes, like Marcus Clavelle in the shot put, who finished fifth, give us a point or two more than we expected."

Arkansas also won the cross country national championship. The Hogs' outdoor season opens in Baton Rouge, La., on March 20 against LSU, Mississippi and Mississippi State. McDonnell said there is no secret to his program's success. "It is a combination of good athletes and a good work ethic. Our athletes work extremely hard," he said. "Of course, other schools have athletes who work hard, too. Ours are very aware of our tradition. They know what it means to wear Arkansas on their uniforms. When someone stumbles, someone else always picks up the slack.

Go To Page: 1 2