Penn Relays

3 Championship of America titles:

Freshman Paul Donovan led off with a 2.51.8 1200 (#13 all time). Stanley Redwine and Ed Williams kept the Hogs at the front. Frank O’Mara received the baton with company and waited till 250 before kicking for the win. O’Mara brought home the first ever Championship of America with a 3.59.0 anchor.Villanova finish 5th.

The SMR came down to Villanova versus Arkansas again. In a proper duel, Stanley Redwine, held off John Marshall of Villanova with a 1.46.0 800m leg. Mike Conley, Wallace Spearmon and Ed Williams completed the foursome.

Villanova changed their strategy and put their best athlete on an earlier leg of the 4 X 1500m relay team. Tony Leonard, Tommy Moloney and Paul Donovan kept the Hogs at the front and O’Mara brought home the title. Villanova finished a distant second.

Frank O’Mara won the Outstanding Athlete Award

4 Championship of America titles:

Arkansas won 4 relays for the first time, and Roddy Haley ran on 3 of those teams. 2 sprint relays with Mike Conley, Fred Cleary and Wallace Spearmon, Snr. He also ran a 44.2 leg on the winning DMR team which was anchored by Paul Donovan. Paul got a 15m lead on Abdi Bile, the George Mason anchor, and 1987 World 1500m Champion. It’s no fun when an athlete of Bile’s caliber is hunting you, but Paul was up to the task and his 3.56.8 split held off Bile who closed in 3.55.2.

The 4 X 1500m the following day was out of this world. After Keith Iovine fell behind in the opening leg, Gary Taylor produced a scintillating 3.38.6, the second fastest of all time, to put the Razorbacks in front .  David Swain produced a 3.41.6 to further extend the lead and gave Paul Donavan an unassailable gap. With a lap remaining Paul noticed the clock read 13.52 and that the collegiate record was within reach. He duly delivered a 58 last lap for a 3.41.2 final leg. The winning time of 14.50.2 still stands as the Collegiate Record. The team was inducted to the Relays Hall of Fame in 2000.

Roddie Haley’s 3 victories earned him the Outstanding Athlete Award.

2 Championship of America titles:

The “Rocket” Haley had the crowd on their feet as he rallied from 4th place to beat Florida on the anchor of the 4 X 400 team. Roddie’s last trip around Franklin Field took 45.1 seconds.

A lead off leg of 2.52.0 by Gary Taylor, followed by Roddie Haley’s 44.4, and Lorenzo Brown’s 1.46.9 gave a slight lead to Doug Consiglio who, although running a 3.59.0 final leg, was beaten by Mike Stahr’s 3.54.9 as Georgetown broke Arkansas’s Collegiate Record from 1986.

Gary Taylor finally pulled anchor duty at Penn on the 4 X 1500m Relay. He sat in the pack and launched his kick with 200m remaining outdistancing Villanova’s Gerry O’Reilly and Indiana’s Charlie Marsala for the title. Joe Falcon made his Relays’ debut with a 3.44.5 leg.

Arkansas was a close second to Penn State in the 4 X 800m.

2 Championship of America titles:

The Hogs faced the most daunting foe in their entire Penn Relays experience. Mount St. Mary’s had the Cheruiyot brothers both Olympic finalists, David Lishebo an Olympian from Zambia and Peter Rono, the 1500 Olympic Gold medalist. Pundits expected a MSM victory in a world record time. After a morning discussion with John, the hogs were equally motivated and determined to give a good account of themselves.

Reuben Reina set the tone when he stayed within half a second of the Olympic Champion on the opening 1200m. Charles Williams delivered a solid 46.4. Villanova and MSM had alternated the lead until Robert Bradley’s 1.46.0 on the third leg. Bradley improved his personal best by almost 2 seconds as he overtook Charles Cheruiyot and handed the baton to Joe Falcon in front. Falcon ran a hard first lap and then Kip Cheruiyot took the front running responsibility. He led until Falcon shot by with 200m left and held on for a famous victory by 10 meters. Falcon’s anchor 1600m was timed In 3.53.8 and Cheruiyot recorded 3.53.0. The two fastest splits ever at Penn. It took a World Record alright but it was the Hogs who delivered on that pre-race prediction. To this day it remains the Collegiate Record.

After the first 3 legs of the 4 X 1500m, Joe Falcon was given a 2 meter lead over Frank Conway and Providence. Joe did little more than jog and at the bell 6 teams were in contention. Conway jumped the field and opened an 8m gap down the backstretch. It looked grim for Joe but he began his kick with 200 left, caught Conway with 40 m left and won by 4 meters. His anchor split was 3.55.9 but a 52.9 last lap got the job done

Joe Falcon won the Outstanding Athlete Award for the second consecutive year.

1 Championship of America title:

Johan Boakes opens with a 1200 split of 2.51.9 (# 14 all time) and for the first 3 legs it was Arkansas and Georgetown or Georgetown and Arkansas. At the final exchange, John Trautmann of Georgetown had a 7 meter lead over Eric Henry. Henry tracked Trautmann until he took the initiative with 300 remaining. This move by Eric did not shake Trautmann who drew even with 70m left and forged a lead at 40m. Both fought on until Trautmann’s legs began to buckle, and Eric out leaned him on the line for a hard fought victory. Henry’s inspired anchor was 3.55.0 versus 3.55.3 for Trautmann.

The Razorbacks, tired from the previous day’s exertion failed to show up for the 4 x 1500, and Georgetown returned the favor much like the previous year’s outcome but reversed.

1 Championship of America title:

Niall Bruton on the anchor for the Razorbacks got the stick from his teammates with a 25m lead over Louie Quintana. Quintana with the aid of a 55 first lap caught Bruton with 250m remaining, but Niall immediately responded and won the sprint to the finish line. Niall’s 1600m split was 4.01.3; Quintana 3.57.6.

In the 4 x 1500m relay, misfortune knocked the Hogs out of contention. On the third leg the Villanova runner, Brad Sumner, knocked the baton out of John Schiefer’s hands as he passed him. By the time Schiefer had recovered the stick and reached the handoff to Niall Bruton, the Hogs were 35m adrift. Niall hurriedly made up the margin but had no response when Quintana made a move with 200 to go. Arkansas faded to 4th

2 Championship of America titles:

On Friday, in a final leg battle between two of the best college milers, the Razorbacks’ Graham Hood of Canada held off the Wolverines’ Kevin Sullivan, also of Canada, to win the distance medley relay. Graham became the only male athlete to win 4 distance medley relays.

Michigan tried a different tactic in the 4 X 1500m relay. Instead of running Sullivan on the anchor leg, Michigan had him run the third leg. Sullivan turned a 60-meter deficit into a 7-meter lead with a 1,500-meter leg in 3 minutes 39.1 seconds. This just delayed the inevitable. Scott McDonald failed to capitalize on his narrow advantage. Graham Hood sat on McDonald until 700 meters were left. Then Hood raced by MacDonald and won by 25 meters, Arkansas’s 10th victory in 12 years in this race.

2 Championship of America titles:

George Mason had won the NCAA Indoor DMR, were defending Penn Relays champions and had the previous year’s Outstanding Athlete, Julius Achon, anchoring. Achon was given a 3-meter lead starting the anchor leg, and off past history, he seemed unbeatable. But Seneca Lassiter was undeterred and sat on Achon until about 60 meters from the end of the 1,600-meter leg. Then, Lassiter blew past the tiring Achon and went on to win by about 10 meters. Seneca’s split was 3.56.9 compared to a 3.58.0 for the George Mason anchor. Kevin Sullivan of Michigan was a further 3 seconds back with a 3.59.0 anchor leg.

Arkansas won the 4 X 1500m relay in 15:02.08 as Seneca Lassiter out dueled Kevin Sullivan of Michigan over the final 200 meters. Lassiter led by about 15 meters starting the final leg of the relay thanks to strong legs from the team, particularly a 3.42.1 contribution from Ryan Wilson. Sullivan kept whittling the deficit until he caught Lassiter with 300 meters left. The two ran side by side for about 100 meters, before Lassiter broke away and raced to a 15-meter victory, the Razorbacks’ fifth straight in the event and their 11th in 13 years. Lassiter finished with a 3:44.5 split.

Seneca Lassiter won the Outstanding Athlete Award.

2 Championship of America titles:

Seneca Lassiter becomes the first Razorback to anchor 3 winning relay teams in the same weekend and the first to anchor a successful 4 X 800.

Lassiter ran the anchor leg of the DMR in 3.54.3 – #3 all time. On Saturday, he anchored the 4 X 1MILE to a 50 meter victory and a new collegiate record.

Later that day the Hogs had a first at Penn – victory in the 4 X 800m Relay. Sharif Karie took the stick from Ryan Stanley and proceeded to turn a 25-meter deficit into a 10-meter lead that James Karanu extended farther with a 1:46.3 leg – the fastest of the race. Lassiter split 1:48.9 and brought the Hogs home 20 meters clear of the nearest competitor.

Seneca Lassiter won the Outstanding Athlete Award.

2 Championship of America titles:

Daniel Lincoln took advantage of a dropped baton by Villanova to assert control of the 1200 leg. Robbie Stevens and Chris Mulvaney made it a two team race and gave Alistair Cragg the baton along side Jon Riley of Stanford. Cragg made a winning move with 200 remaining and won easing up in 9.31.21. Stanford were second.

In the 4 X 1 Mile, Mike Taylor and Dan Lincoln again made it a head to head confrontation with Stanford. Chris Mulvaney created separation and gave Alistair Cragg the baton with a 10 meter lead. Alistair took the first lap out fast – 56 seconds. This forced Gabe Jennings of Stanford to run 55 to catch up. Jennings immediately took the lead allowing Cragg to then sit on him until the last lap. Alistair duly blew past the Stanford anchor for a comfortable victory.

3 Championship of America titles:

James Hatch anchored Arkansas to it’s first SMR title since 1983. Omar Brown and Wallace Spearmon, Jnr ran the 200m legs and Terry Gaston the 400m. Interestingly, Spearmon’s father was on the first successful Sprint Medley 21 years earlier.

With the freshman Sam Vazquez, the junior Terry Gatson and the junior Said Ahmed running the first three legs, Arkansas led at every pass in Friday’s Distance Medley. For the 1,600-meter anchor leg, Alistair Cragg got the baton 10 meters ahead of Georgetown. Chris Lukezic, the Georgetown anchor, closed the gap by running his first 400m in 58 seconds and then sat on Alistair. On the final backstretch, Cragg upped the pace, and Lukezic initially matched him. On the last turn, a gap of 2 or 3 meters opened, and in the final 70 meters Alistair sprinted for home. Lukezic had no answer.

The 4 X 1 MILE was essentially a 2 team race. Stanford came east with a loaded team of Andy Powell, Ryan Hall, Grant Robinson and Don Sage. At the first exchange, the race was closely bunched when James Hatch handed off to Said Ahmed. On the 2nd leg, Said Ahmed applied pressure and distanced himself from Ryan Hall. Ahmed handed the baton to Sam Vasquez 5 seconds clear. Vasquez made it very hard for Grant Robinson to close the gap. Robinson, who made the US Olympic team in the 1500m later that year, cut into the lead by 3 seconds giving Stanford a shot in the final leg. Having a 10m lead, Alistair ran the first lap hard, forcing Sage to exhaust much of his energy early. Over the final 200m Alistair gently tapped the throttle and eased to a 5 second victory over a surprised Stanford Cardinal.