McDonnell Invite opens with top high-schoolers
Posted on Friday, April 18, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Sports/64263/
For their lone home outdoor track meet other than next month’s NCAA Regionals, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Lady Razorbacks are bringing in some of the best colleges and high schools in the region.
Other than Day 1 of the college men’s decathlon and college women’s heptathlon, it’s all high school boys and girls at today’s portion of the twoday John McDonnell Invitational running all day today at John McDonnell Field.
Saturday’s a mix of high school and college competition with the college running event finals holding forth from 4 p. m. until the 4 x 400 relay at 9: 35 p. m.
“ I think it’s going to be a good one, ” said John McDonnell, the Razorbacks’ 42-time national championship coach for whom the track and meet is named. “ Twenty-one colleges and 23 high schools. We have a lot of great athletes among the 21 universities to make for great competition in every event. ”
Memphis, Missouri, Missouri State, Northern Illinois, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Princeton, Rice, SMU, Texas Tech, Tulsa and Air Force are among the entrants.
McDonnell said NCAA Indoor triple jump champion Nkosinza Balumbu and All-American NCAA indoor long jumper Alain Bailey both will compete Saturday as will pole vaulter Spencer McCorkel of Bryant and long jumper Mychael Stewart of Bentonville.
Sprinter J-Mee Samuels had the best two meets of his college life at the SEC and NCAA meets in last winter’s indoor season. So McDonnell expects big things from the two-event indoor All-American running outdoors Saturday in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and 4 x 100 relay.
McDonnell’s distance crew, particularly the milers and halfmilers, are using Saturday’s meet to prep for running the distance medley and 4 xMile relays before 40, 000 to 50, 000 spectators at next week’s Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
Lady Razorback coach Lance Harter has his long distance runners at the Mount Sac Invitational in Walnut Creek, Calif., but everyone else, including a pole vault contingent with Mount Ida’s Stephanie Irwin and Jonesboro’s Katie Stripling, will compete at the McDonnell meet.