'Nova, Hogs dominate relays

Over the past few years, the Arkansas men's track team and the Villanova women's team have dominated their competition. Both have relied on their distance teams, which are consistently among the country's best. The two teams are each led by an athlete who was honored at the Relays, Graham Hood for the Hogs and Becky Spies for 'Nova. So it was not surprising both teams were considered favorites in all of the Championship of America distance relay events at Penn Relays. The Razorbacks and Wildcats made sure there would be no upsets in their events. They won five of six distance relays, proving once again they cannot be matched for distance supremacy. Villanova answered most of the questions that had been raised about new coach John Marshall. The Wildcats' legendary coach, Marty Stern, retired at the end of last season, and the coaching reigns were turned over to Marshall, who had served as assistant for two years. 'Nova's performance in front of the hometown crowd at the Relays would be very important in determining Marshall's success in his first season. The Wildcats silenced the critics by winning all three distance relays for the first time since 1990. They started off by cruising past the field in the distance medley relay. 'Nova led from start to finish, but did not take a commanding lead until all-American Tosha Woodward broke away from the field in the 800-meter leg. "I'm very pleased with how we did," Marshall said. "The distance medley relay is how we measure ourselves against other teams." The Wildcats were expecting competition from the Arkansas women, but the Razorbacks bypassed the distance medley to have a better shot in the 4x1500. But 'Nova and Spies were able to defeat the well-rested Arkansas team in the 4x1500. The only event that remained to complete the hat trick was the 4x800. The Wildcats were in third place behind Wake Forest and Georgetown going into Woodward's anchor leg. She responded, kicking the Cats into first place, and for the third time at the Relays she was able to take a victory lap around Franklin Field. "My teammates put me in great position," Woodward said. "I figured that I'd be right on Georgetown's shoulder when I started." While Nova was sweeping its three events, Arkansas claimed two Championship of America trophies. The Hogs' win in the distance medley relay was very similar to the Wildcats' win. The race was close until the 800-meter leg, when Brandon Rock created some space between himself and the rest of the field before handing off to the all-American Hood. "Coach [John] McDonnell told me to go out and hurt them," Rock said, "so I went out real fast in the first 400 meters." Rock ran the first half of his leg in 49 seconds. The Razorbacks had a more difficult time winning the 4x1,500. After opening up a small lead after the first two legs, the Razonbacks fell behind Michigan going into the final leg.But Michigan anchor Scott McDonald was no match for Hood, who waited on McDonald through 800 meters and then kicked it in to win by 35 meters. Arkansas' time of 15:05.38 was not its best, but that did not bother coach McDonnell. "The main thing at Penn is to win. You don't care about times," McDonnell said. "You just want to take the watches home." Much was made about the lack of direct competition between Hood and Sullivan. Hood, who won the 1,500 meters at the outdoor NCAAs last year, finished second to Sullivan indoors. The two native Canadians never squared off at the Relays, as they ran different legs in the 4x1500 and Sullivan was way behind Hood when he started the distance medley relay. Sullivan had the better split both times, but Hood was not concerned. "For personal satisfaction, I'd like another crack at him," Hood said. If Penn Relays was any indication, 'Nova and Arkansas will clean up at the upcoming NCAA Championships.