New style suits Barr just fine in the 1,500
Posted on Sunday, June 1, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/227418/
FAYETTEVILLE — When Tennessee’s Sarah Bowman sprinted to the lead on the opening lap of the 1, 500-meter run Saturday, it was the last thing Dacia Barr expected.
Bowman, the reigning SEC Outdoor champion, is a closer, a runner who hangs near the lead before using her great sprinting speed to win late. Few seem to do it better that way than Bowman, so Barr was quite surprised when Bowman didn’t do it.
Barr is a senior and a poised veteran and rallied quickly to catch up and hang with Bowman. That’s the way the two stayed until there were only 120 meters left, when it was Barr who sprinted past Bowman to win the Mideast Regional at John McDonnell Field.
Barr finished in 4 minutes, 13. 66 seconds, a personal-best mark. Bowman was second in 4: 14. 06.
When Bowman beat Barr at the SEC meet in mid-May, Barr had taken the lead while Bowman stayed just behind her.
“It turned out a lot different that I expected,” Barr said. “That was a shock. I had to adjust my race strategy and go for a ride.”
Bowman, a junior, said she ran a different race style as an experiment and wasn’t primarily concerned with winning. Bowman said she hadn’t run a full 1, 500 since the season began, meaning all the races have been tactical rather than seeing how fast she could cover the distance.
“It’s always easier to sit on someone and outkick them,” Bowman said. “It’s a different race. You can’t just have one style. You have to mix it up. It was about seeing what else I could do.”
The tactic nearly worked, but Barr’s poise and talent prevented Bowman from pulling away from the field. Four runners formed a lead pack before Barr and Bowman separated themselves even more.
“They are all proven veterans, and they’re always trying to be conscientious about expanding their arsenal of weapons,” Arkansas Coach Lance Harter said. “The first 15 seconds of the race, everyone was taken off guard. Bowman almost pulled it off.
“ We were excited that Dacia didn’t panic. She put herself back in position because Sarah had gapped everybody.”
The race played to Barr’s strength, a strong early pace that took the kick out of the sprinters. Barr would prefer every 1, 500 go in a similar style, but championship races are almost always about tactics.
“Compared to Sarah, I don’t have a kick,” Barr said. “We’ve never had the chance before. I had a chance for it to be an honest race. [Bowman ] didn’t have as much of a kick at the end.”
Sophomore Megan Jackson earned a trip to the national meet with a fifth-place finish in the 3, 000 steeplechase. Jackson seemed to be comfortably in fourth until a mad dash by several runners during the last 100 meters.
Jackson managed to hold on to fifth,. 06 seconds ahead of sixth-place finisher Sarah Hurley of Wisconsin. Five runners finished within. 12 seconds of each other.
“She did a good job of keeping herself in scoring position,” Harter said. “She had to scramble the last 20 meters. It was more of a dive for the tape.”
Jackson said she wasn’t worried about how fast she ran, just that she finished in the top five.
“It was good to get another clean race,” Jackson said. “It wasn’t about time, it’s all about place and trying to be up near the front. I wanted good, clean water jumps and to run as efficient as possible.”
The Lady Razorbacks’ 1, 600 relay team finished sixth in 3: 35. 71. Arkansas ran without senior Paige Farrell, who has a bone bruise and strained ligaments in her left foot.
Arkansas, which had the thirdbest regional time, had to finish in the top three to guarantee a spot in the national meet. The Lady Razorbacks are eligible for an at-large bid.