McDonnell unhappy with DMR showing at Tyson meet
Posted on Sunday, February 17, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/62326/
Ending a meet getting thumped in any event by former Southwest Conference rival Texas, never will enhance John McDonnell’s mood.
But when the event is a loss to SEC rival LSU, too, and it’s the distance medley relay that his Razorbacks failed in their last attempt to improve their shaky (9: 38. 37 ) NCAA Indoor provisional qualifying mark, well, what you’d expect is what you got from the Arkansas coach Saturday.
For the Razorbacks, the conclusion of Saturday’s two-day Tyson Invitational meet the Razorbacks and Lady Razorbacks co-hosted at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track was the DMR of Duncan Phillips, Chris Bilbrew, Alex McClary and Andy McClary widely missing the automatic NCAA standard (9: 35 ) at 9: 39. 63.
Meanwhile, Texas set a worldbest, American record and collegiate record, 9: 25. 79 while LSU, pulling away from Andy McClary on the mile record, ran a provisional qualifying 9: 35. 31 for second.
“ That’s the most disappointed I’ve been in a long time, ” McDonnell said of the third-place DMR. “ This guy [Andy McClary ] runs a 3: 56 mile last year and runs 4: 06 or 4: 08 tonight. We’re not getting it done. We don’t want it bad enough. ”
Hats off to Texas, McDonnell said, but added the Razorbacks should have been within lassoing distance of the Longhorns and certainly not four seconds behind LSU.
“ Texas ran an awesome race, ” McDonnell said. “ But I thought we had the chance to run with them, not 14 seconds behind them, by gosh ! It [9: 35 ] was set up for us with LSU right there. We didn’t respond to the challenge. ”
McDonnell said the Razorbacks, with all distance runners doubling, will run a makeshift DMR for points at the SEC meet Arkansas hosts Feb. 29-March 2 but will not run the DMR at a last chance qualifying meet.
“ We’ve run it enough, ” McDonnell said. “ We’re not a national-type team [both the DMR and team as a whole he said ]. The first two meets I thought good things were going to happen, but we’ve got too many guys looking for an excuse. Too many not laying it on the line. ”
Well, not everybody.
He did praise junior Nkosinza Balumbu, the team captain, for becoming Arkansas’ first automatic qualifier 53-2 1-4 for fourth in a field won by Levan Sands (54-10 3-4 ) competing unattached. McDonnell also praised sprinter J-Mee Samuels’ provisionally qualifying 21. 26 while fifth in Saturday’s 200-meter dash, freshman pole vaulter Spencer McCorkel of Bryant clearing 17-0, and senior Mickey Cobrin’s surprising 4: 00 personal record and provisional qualifying mile run Friday.
As team captain, Balumbu said it’s his responsibility to make his automatic qualifier contagious to the team before the SEC meet.
“ I’m happy we’ve got these two weeks, ” Balumbu said. “ I think mentally we are not there. Physically we are there. We have the marks to prove it. Hopefully I can be the icebreaker that it’s time to turn it up. ”
Lance Harter’s Lady Razorbacks ended their day in a better way, winning their DMR by 9 seconds over runnerup Texas Tech in a NCAA Women’s provisional qualifying 11: 18. 33.
Harter especially praised freshmen Jillian Rosen on the leadoff 1, 200 leg and freshman Shelise Williams on the 400 leg and said Dacia Barr “ had a big day” on the anchor mile coming off qualifying provisionally Friday night in the open mile.
In Saturday’s session, Lady Razorback freshman Tara Diebold of Branson, Mo., qualified provisionally for the NCAA Indoor championships while winning the college division pole vault at 12-11 3-4.
And, though last in her heat, Lady Razorback Makeatha Cooper improved her NCAA Indoor provisional qualifying time with a personal record, 8. 26.
Cooper said the field in her heat — five met NCAA Indoor automatic qualifying standards in the heat in 8. 04 by meet-winner Tiffany Ofili of Michigan — made her last-place heat finish easier to swallow.
“ I knew it was going to be a tough race, ” Cooper said. “ The top people you see at Nationals. I was in Lane 8 and just hoping for a good, solid race to push me to excel. And I did, 8. 26. I’m happy with that and I’m really looking forward to conference. ”
Lady Razorback Catherine White surged to second place in Saturday’s 3, 000 meters. Her 9: 32. 77 time is a provisional NCAA qualifier and personal-best and bettered teammate Denise Bargiachi’s second-best 5, 000 effort, Saturday’s 3, 000-winner Penn State’s Bridget Franek, ran five seconds faster, 9: 27. 48, but that still was just a provisional qualifier.