104th Penn Relays showcase nation's finest

Arkansas' 4xMile win leaves records standing It's not often a team blows away its competition, takes a victory lap and then provides excuses afterwards. But that's what happened on Saturday, during the first Penn Relays running of the 4xMile relay in 22 years. With the TV schedule adjusted in anticipation of Oregon's 25-year-old collegiate record being broken, Arkansas fell just a second short. A crowd of over 40,000 was cheering for Arkansas anchorman and National Collegiate Athletic Association champion Seneca Lassiter as he reached the last lap. The clock showed Lassiter on pace to at least break the Relays record of 16:10.6 if not the collegiate record of 16:08.9. But Lassiter was not his usual self, and the final time was 16:11.65, just a second off the Relays record and under three seconds behind the NCAA record. The Razorbacks responded to cheers with a victory lap after the race, before locking their hands and bowing to the crowd. But after the race, the questions focused on the record rather than the victory. Lassiter provided most of the explanation, when the first question directed towards him was whether he was tired at the end. "Um-hum," he said with a smile. But another problem was the unusual track configuration -- the straightaways are shorter than most other tracks. This necessitates extra lines on the ground near the start and finish, which confused Lassiter, who stumbled a few meters before the line and slowed to a walk, which almost definitely cost him the Relays record. "I thought that the first line was the finish line," Lassiter said. "It was [also] real windy leading from start to finish, and I tend to slow down when I'm by myself." Between the four racers and the coach, Arkansas came up with more excuses than expected from the winning team. First the wind, then the lack of competition and even the fatigue factor was mentioned. Arkansas' victory nevertheless was somewhat surprising, as many predictions had Michigan and Stanford finishing in front. With two of its four runners competing in the 5,000 meters Thursday, and its best runner in the Distance Medley Relay Friday, it seemed like the Razorbacks would be tired. "Some people figured after the [Distance Medley Relay] yesterday, the Razorbacks were not in the form of Razorbacks," Arkansas leadoff runner Phil Price said. " The Razorbacks were led by senior Lassiter, who finished two seconds ahead of Michigan's Kevin Sullivan to give the Razorbacks the victory last year. Lassiter is the defending NCAA outdoor champion in the 1,500, while Price is the Southeastern Conference indoor champion at 3,000 meters. Junior Matt Kerr, who won the 1,500 meters at the SEC indoors, was the only new face on a team that also returned junior Michael Power. Equating their best times in the 1,500 to the mile gave the squad a combined total of 15:52.80, well ahead of both the Penn Relays record of 16:10.6 set by Villanova in 1975. With the return to the 4xMile and the potential for a new Relays record, the track announcer spent about 15 minutes introducing a race where the runners stayed in a pack for the first two laps, before seven teams finally broke away. In the last lap of the first leg, the crowd began to cheer as one runner pushed into the lead. That runner was Penn's own Robin Martin, a junior who specializes in the 800, where he advanced to the NCAA championships last year and missed being an All-American by .03 seconds. Martin finished the first leg in front, followed closely by Michigan, Arkansas, Brown and Stanford. "I just wanted to stay with the leaders and give it all at the end," Martin said. "I knew I had the strength to go at least 1,200 with these guys. I was hoping I had something left at the end to kick." But the Razorbacks used Martin's push to their advantage, as they were shielded from some of the wind facing the leader. "On the first leg, the plan was that if I wasn't able to get a great lead, don't hand the baton off in the lead and let the other guys sit on us," Price said. "When the Michigan guy and [Martin] kind of came by, I just kind of scooted up right behind them. Penn did not provide a wind shield for long as they fell back into the pack, but Michigan's John Mortimer allowed Kerr, Arkansas' second leg, to sit back in second and save energy for a few laps. Kerr pushed ahead in the third lap, opening a lead that Arkansas would never relinquish. By the time Power got the baton, the only question was whether the Razorbacks would break Oregon's Relays record. Power did his job, handing the baton off way ahead of the pack, with Lassiter needing to run just under four minutes to break the record. Lassiter probably would have beaten the Relays record, but the botched finish ended any hopes of that. Michigan finished second, more than eight seconds behind, followed by Stanford and Georgetown. The Quakers used Martin's strong start to finish in seventh place. After all the excitement about the return to the 4xMile and the questions about the Razorbacks, Arkansas answered its critics with their fifth consecutive victory in this event. "There was all this talk about Stanford and Michigan going for the record, but you have to do one thing first and that's win it," Kerr said. "And that's what we went out to do."

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