Arkansas men's track coach John McDonnell has won more national championships, 42, than anyone in the history of college sports. But for only the second time in the last 23 years, his team won't be defending a championship relay at the Penn Relays.
Instead, McDonnell's Razorbacks return to Franklin Field empty-handed after finishing second to Michigan in all three distance relays last year.
And it would come as no surprise if the SEC powerhouse gets the short end of the baton once again.
The Razorbacks lose last year's anchor leg Said Ahmed, and Adam Perkins, who ran the leadoff leg in the 4x-mile and distance medley relay last year, sustained an Achilles' tendon injury earlier this season.
That setback forces McDonnell to rearrange his runners to put together three teams to challenge the defending champions.
"We're just sort of winging it a bit," McDonnell admitted. "I don't know if we have the power out there to win one."
Still, Arkansas has to be labeled as a front-runner in the distance relays. From the teams that swept the three events last year, Michigan loses two runners to the professional ranks in Nick Willis and Nate Brennen.
Even better news for Arkansas: No other teams seem to be emerging from the pack, although the usual suspects will all be contenders, including Stanford, Texas and Villanova.
"It'll be who will run the smartest race" McDonnell said. "I don't think we can overpower anybody, but I don't think any team can overpower us, either."
Ahead of the pack
The situation seems to be more clear-cut in the sprint relays, though, where it's Louisiana State against the field.
"I hope we are [the target]. I think that's the goal every year," coach Dennis Shaver said. "The guys are running real well, and we actually have a bit more depth this year."
"Running real well" might be an understatement. LSU is fresh off of a dominant performance earlier this month at the Texas Relays. The Tigers won the 4x100m and 4x400m races with the fastest times posted by college teams this year.
They return only two runners, Xavier Carter and Kelly Willie, from the 4x100m team which won at Penn last year. Yet those runners' versatility makes a sweep of the sprint relays a possibility.
Carter has run the shorter sprints, including the 4x100m at the Texas Relays, but his "future is in the 400m," according to Shaver. Willie has taken the opposite path, honing his 100m to add to his 400m, and he in particular has become better for it.
"I think they really are kind of complementing themselves," he said of Willie's different distances. Shaver pointed out that because of his flexibility, Willie has scored more points for LSU at the NCAA Championships than anyone in history.
But even for all LSU's advantages, the sprint relays are far from a foregone conclusion. One potential hiccup lies in the health of Trindon Holliday. Holliday was set to run in the 4x100m next week, but the runningback suffered a high ankle sprain during the football team's spring game. His status is in doubt, and it's likely that Richard Thompson will have to run in his place.
Nonetheless, it seems clear that the school from the bayou will bring the teams to beat at the shortest distances.
"I don't see any team on the collegiate level beating them if everything goes right for them," McDonnell said.
Building on success
On the women's side, Texas looks primed to take a few championship plaques of its own.
At the Texas Relays, the hometown team won the 4x100m and 4x800m relays and accumulated wins in several individual events.
But still, head coach Bev Kearney isn't taking success for granted.
"We feel like we have a lot to improve upon," she said. "But we ended up being Team of the Meet, so we can't say that we did bad."
The Longhorns are pinning many of their title hopes on Marshevet Hooker, who won the 100m in Texas, and Melanie Walker, who won the 400m hurdles.
If they do extend that success to Franklin Field, they'll have to overcome South Carolina, which won four relays a year ago.
LSU, whose women are also coached by Shaver, is a contender. After running a competitive all-freshman 4x100m relay at Penn last year, Shaver's team looks primed to challenge for at least that plaque.
"We're real proud of the progress [the 100m team] has made," Shaver said. "We're much improved over last year.
"We feel as though the group is really starting to believe in themselves."
