Hogs take another regional title
Posted on Sunday, November 11, 2007
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FAYETTEVILLE — Matt Munoz and Shawn Forrest are both capable of leading the pack for Arkansas.
On Saturday at Agri Park, Munoz led the Razorbacks to their 18 th consecutive NCAA South Central Regional championship and their 29 th since 1978. It was a reversal of the pecking order at the SEC Championships two weeks ago when Forrest led Arkansas to victory.
Munoz was fifth overall Saturday, and Forrest finished 12. In between, Arkansas had Chris Barnicle in sixth, Scott MacPherson seventh and Tyler Hill ninth.
That kind of depth and balance among its top five runners makes Arkansas a hard team to figure heading into the NCAA Championships on Nov. 19 at Terre Haute, Ind.
“Coach [John McDonnell ] was telling us we remind of the 2000 team that won [the national championship ],” MacPherson said. “Their best guy would be the fifth guy on a day and the fifth guy would be the first guy on any other day. And that just means guys are going to have bad days and we can step up, which is really encouraging and makes us pretty confident going into the last race of the season.”
Consistency with all five runners represents Arkansas’ best chance of beating out No. 1 Oregon, defending champion Colorado and perennial power Wisconsin, who all figure to be stronger on paper at the NCAAs.
“If we just hit it with all five and nothing goes wrong, I think we’ll be OK,” McDonnell said. “I think in my estimation we have the kind of team that could be in there.”
McDonnell said he was pleased that the Razorbacks didn’t lose their focus hosting the school’s first regional meet, nor did they overlook the importance of finishing in the top two and automatically advancing.
“Today was just kind of a prerequisite for the national championships. Qualify but you get nothing for running good today,” McDonnell said. “But you have to get there. You can’t take it too easy. But you win and go on.”
Munoz was ill at the SEC meet, when Forrest led the Razorbacks. On Saturday, the roles were reversed and Munoz picked up for Forrest being under the weather.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Shadrack Songok (29: 16. 3 ) and Lamar’s Francis Kasagule (29: 23. 4 ) finished first and second, respectively, followed by two Texas runners. But the Longhorns couldn’t keep pace with Arkansas ’ efficient pack running.
“We thought those five guys would be the guys in front: Me, Tyler, Scott, Chris and Shawn. We all just stayed together calm and just fed off each other the whole race,” said Munoz, a senior who hadn’t been his team’s top finisher in five previous races. “I ran a quick time out here [29: 36. 7 ), and it felt like a walk in the park with all of us together. Just that mind-set helps you so much.” NCAA South Central Regional At Agri Park Fayetteville
MEN’S TEAM SCORES 1. Arkansas, 37; 2. Texas 52; 3. Texas A&M, 101; 4. Lamar, 122; 5. LSU, 193; 6. Baylor, 193; 7. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 200; 8. Rice, 201; 9. UALR, 239; 10. North Texas, 262; 11. Texas-Arlington, 269; 12. Texas-Pan American, 270; 13. McNeese State, 287; 14. Arkansas State, 417