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Lead Stories: Saturday, September 6, 2008

Indoor Track: NCAA Div. I Men’s Rankings (Week 1)

Posted January 31st, 2008 at 3:46 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Arkansas went from a preseason rank of 9th all the way to 1st in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) men’s rankings in NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field. Tennessee and Oklahoma were ranked 2nd and 3rd and Boise State and Texas Tech rounded out the top 5.
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TFS News Briefs: 1/26/08

Posted January 26th, 2008 at 12:17 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, TFS News Briefs

Jones Scandal Damaged Credibility of Track, Says Sprinter
Jamaican 100m world champ Veronica Campbell-Brown, training in Florida for Beijing, said that the Marion Jones doping scandal has “put a dark cloud over the sport” of track and field and damaged its credibility.
Read more at: [Jamaica Gleaner News]

Razorback Track Appealing NCAA Sanctions
The Arkansas Razorbacks track & field team is appealing sanctions put down on it by the NCAA, sanctions they call “excessive and inappropriate.”
Read more at: [ESPN]

Huckabee Officially Enters Boston Marathon
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has officially registered to run on a relay team in this April’s Boston Marathon. He was granted a waiver to run for Team Hoyt, a local charity that seeks to integrate the physically disabled into everyday life.
Read more at: [WCSH, Boston]
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Lehigh set to host the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional XC Champs on Saturday

Posted November 9th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Cross Country, College

Lehigh will host the 2007 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Saturday morning on the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course. The Division I men’s 10K race will start at 11 a.m., followed by the Division I women’s 6K race at 12:15 p.m. Goodman Campus will also serve as host to the Division III Mideast Regional, with the women’s 6K race starting at 1:15, followed by the men’s 8K race at 2:15.

The Division I men’s race will feature 33 schools, including defending champion and nationally ranked Georgetown (No. 14) as well as Patriot League champion American and Paul Short winner Villanova. The Mountain Hawks will send eight runners to the course, led by freshman Dan McClimon and junior Dan DeWitt.

The women’s race will feature 33 schools, including defending champion and nationally ranked Princeton (No. 4), West Virginia (No. 14), Georgetown (No. 20) and Penn State (No. 28). The Princeton women are also the winners of this year’s Paul Short Run, finishing ahead of West Virginia. The Brown and White will send nine runners to the course, led by junior Shannon Alejandro, who was named to the All-Patriot League first team.

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Coach McDonnell Honored by the Southeastern Conference

Posted October 31st, 2007 at 8:31 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Arkansas’ John McDonnell was chosen as the SEC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year, it was announced by the conference on Tuesday.

The award marks McDonnell’s 13th consecutive SEC Cross Country Coach of the Year award and 16th overall after guiding his Razorbacks to another SEC Championship. The Hogs won Arkansas’ 34th-consecutive cross country conference title and its 17th-consecutive SEC cross country title. The title win also marks Arkansas’ 82nd conference title (cross country, indoor and outdoor).

McDonnell has been named National Coach of the Year 12 times in indoor track, 11 times in outdoor track and seven times in cross country for a total of 30 awards. He has been Conference Coach of the Year a remarkable 48 times, and Region Coach of the Year 61 times.
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34 in a Row, Hogs Win SEC Cross Country Championships

Posted October 29th, 2007 at 12:00 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

Damp and chilly weather in Lexington didn’t slow the Hogs down as John McDonnell’s team took the 2007 SEC Cross Country title at Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday. The Hogs won Arkansas’ 34th-consecutive cross country conference title and its 17th-consecutive SEC cross country title. The title win also marks Arkansas’ 82nd conference title (cross country, indoor and outdoor).

“(The consecutive streak of conference championships) is my greatest achievement,” McDonnell said. “I take great pride in it because so many things can happen, good and bad. It’s unpredictable. To have enough depth is really the key. To win something like this for 34-years straight is pretty special.”

The Razorbacks won the team title with 36 points. Florida was second in the team race with 74 points. Alabama was third with 82 points. The Crimson Tide’s Emmanuel Bor was the race winner with a time of 23:50.45.
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Podcast 79: Univ. of Arkansas XC & Track Coaching Legend JOHN MCDONNELL

Posted September 12th, 2007 at 7:40 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Running & Training, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews, Podcasts

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

Episode 79 of The Final Sprint Podcast features my interview with legendary University of Arkansas track and XC coach John McDonnell.

In the interview, Coach McDonnell reflects on the stellar IAAF World T&F Champ performances by former Razorbacks Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon, explains why Gay was one of the most disciplined and driven athletes he ever coached, and responds to those critical of the recruitment of international runners, such as former Razorback Alistair Craig, for NCAA Teams.

Download the podcast to hear Coach McDonnell discuss these topics, as well as, the benefits and challenges of his current XC squad’s youth, how to develop a young runner possessing incredible, pure talent (i.e. incoming frosh Duncan Phillips), his lower mileage training regimen vs. 100+ miles/week philosophies of coaches like Colorado’s Mark Wetmore, and when and why he would eventually decide to cap off his Hall of Fame career and retire from coaching.

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[PLAY] (To Download: Right click and select “save as”)

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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Coach John McDonnell
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File Size: 12.5 MB | Length: 18:15 MIN

Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!

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Collegiate milers to compete against young gun Nick Symmonds at Tyson

Posted February 6th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Drugs In Sports

Adam Perkins is a fighter; there is no denying that.

After almost losing his junior outdoor season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury, the Liberty, MO native has battled back for his senior campaign.

Now he’s ready to try and take on the top milers on the collegiate and professional scenes at the Tyson Invitational Friday night.
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WEEK 3 XC Rankings: Few Changes as Most Teams Rest For Next Weekend

Posted October 10th, 2006 at 3:05 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Cross Country

There were very few changes in the Week 3 Cross Country Rankings because most teams took the weekend off. They did so in an attempt to better prepare themselves for next Saturday’s Pre-Nationals at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN.

On the men’s side, there were literally no changes. Wisconsin remained #1 with Arkansas maintaining the subsequent rank.

There were a few changes for the women, although Stanford stayed at the top for a third straight week. The most notable changes was Iowa dropping from 8th to 11th.

Colorado (2) and Michigan (3) switched spots from last week’s rankings. Arkansas, North Carolina State, BYU, Princeton, UC Santa Barbara, Wisconsin and Providence filled the 4-7 spots.

For complete rankings, go to theofficial USTFCCCA Division I site.

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