Hog Calls

Hogs need more at SEC Outdoors

Arkansas women's track and field coach Lance Harter talks to athletic director Jeff Long at the NCAA Indoor Championship Saturday, March 14, 2015 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
Arkansas women's track and field coach Lance Harter talks to athletic director Jeff Long at the NCAA Indoor Championship Saturday, March 14, 2015 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

FAYETTEVILLE — Last week wasn’t the greatest for the University of Arkansas’ two head track coaches.

Though coaching the nation’s No. 1 ranked women’s team coming off a national championship indoor season, Lance Harter mends from gall bladder removal before the SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday through Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

Men’s Coach Chris Bucknam still has his gall bladder but his week galled him.

As competitive as they come coaching Arkansas at one point to 10 consecutive SEC Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor titles, Bucknam has had to face facts that the next SEC Men’s Outdoor title won’t be the Razorbacks.

“There is no scenario for us to win it,” Bucknam said. “With 21 events we are just not deep enough. It looks like a meet between Florida and [Texas] A&M.”

Nationally, No. 1 Texas A&M and No. 3 Florida likely have far more to fear from nationally No. 2 LSU and especially No. 8 Arkansas June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore. than they will in Starkville.

For even John McDonnell in his 40 national championships Arkansas heyday would be proud to have the national frontrunners that Bucknam sports now.

Kemoy Campbell, 13:20.39, leads the nation for 2015 with the 10th fastest collegiate 5,000 meters ever run.

Two-time NCAA Indoor hurdles champion Omar McLeod leads the nation with a Drake Relays record 13.21.

Stanley Kebenei leads the nation’s 3,000-meter steeplechase running 8:23.93 two weekends ago at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. where Campbell ran his 5,000.

Add two-time NCAA Indoor pole vault champion Andrew Irwin, and 27-foot long jumper Jarrion Lawson with a NCAA Indoor championship and NCAA Indoor runner-up on his resume, and the Razorbacks have at least five potential 2015 Outdoor national champions.

McLeod of Jamaica and Irwin of Mount Ida are UA record-holders. The others would be school record-holders most anywhere else but following McDonnell’s legends, and some do rank No. 2.

“There is no bar higher with national championships or with being on top 10 lists than Arkansas,” Bucknam said. “We are not trying to change the legacy, we just want to add to it. I am proud of our body of work and the kids we brought in.”

He’s just caught in a down cycle of all the bodies it takes to win a conference championship in the by far greatest conference in track and field.

“We look like one of those LSU teams in the past that were third or fourth in conference but win nationals,” Bucknam said.

The cycle dipped further with the dismissal of senior All-American 800-meter runner Patrick Rono.

“It goes back to a commitment to academics,” Bucknam said, and Bucknam’s decision to build for the SEC future by redshirting freshmen distance runners Austen Dalquist and Alex George and freshman decathlete Gabe Moore.

“We are going to go in there and fight like heck to do the best we can in the SECs,” Bucknam said. “But not at the expense of the national meet.”

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