2004 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mulvaney, Cheseret, Johnson, and Desilets win titles

by Parker Morse
(More detailed report)

Chris Mulvaney (left) wins the 1,500. (Photos: Alison Wade/NYRR, click to enlarge)

Andy Smith, Ian Dobson, and Jordan Desilets had a three-man battle in the steeplechase, with Desilets (right) coming out on top.

Jonathan Johnson (right) wins the 800m final.

Dathan Ritzenhein (left) tried to take the sting out of Robert Cheseret's kick, but Cheseret ran his last lap in 61 seconds to win the 5,000m final.

Austin, Texas - The University of Arkansas Razorbacks defended their title at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Traditionally a distance-running powerhouse, the Hogs took only 25 of their 65.5 points in the distances, with fourteen coming from the 1,500m; instead they won championships in the 100m (Tyson Gay, 10.06) and 200m (Wallace Spearmon, Jr., 20.12) to pick up points lost by the graduation of Daniel Lincoln and Robbie Stevens.

Arkansas' second lift from the distance corps (after Alistair Cragg's 10,000m win on Thursday) came in the first distance final on Saturday, the 1,500m. BYU's Nathan Robison took the lead from a tight and volatile pack at the bell and appeared ready to hold it, but Chris Mulvaney waited until the brisk wind from the south was behind him on the homestretch, and sailed past Robison for the win, 3:44.72 to 3:44.94. The final lap was covered in 53.3. Arkansas got a four-point bonus when Said Ahmed came in fifth (3:45.66).

The steeplechase immediately following was another tightly-packed affair, and again the move was made at the end of the backstretch as the field turned out of the wind. Winner Jordan Desilets of Eastern Michigan (8:42.64) made a strong move approaching the final water barrier after sheltering behind third-place Ian Dobson of Stanford (8:48.12). Desilets pointed to matching spike wounds on his shins, where he had run close to Dobson's back kick, as proof of a tested strategy. "That one's from the rounds [on Thursday night], and this one's from today."

Jonathan Johnson of Texas Tech, a former Texas high school champion, announced his strategy to anyone who asked after the rounds: go to the front and stay there. "As long as it keeps working for me, that's how I'll keep running." It worked for him tonight, though not without some hard work; Tennessee's Marc Sylvester (fourth, 1:47.23) challenged him at the far corner, and when Sylvester faded, Georgetown's Jesse O'Connell's (second, 1:46.79) scorching kick threatened to overtake Johnson at the line. Arkansas picked up an extra point here with junior James Hatch placing eighth in 1:47.78.

With the sun down, the track still hadn't cooled down much when the crowded men's 5,000m got underway. Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein moved to the lead by the end of the second lap and reached the first kilometer in 2:49, with Arizona's Robert Cheseret lurking in fifth.

By halfway it was Ritzenhein, Cheseret and Stanford's Louis Luchini, and as Luchini gradually fell off in the closing two kiometers Ritzenhein faced the same problem as Alistair Cragg had two nights before in the 10,000m: shaking Cheseret from the front. Ritzenhein tried to grind Cheseret down, but in the final straightaway the Arizona sophomore sprinted past to take the win in 13:49.85 to Ritzenhein's 13:52.13. Wisconsin's Matt Tegenkamp took third in 14:11.45.

Arkansas' move to dominance in the sprints denied points to sprint-driven rivals, leaving Florida a distant second with 49 points and LSU third with 31. Arkansas turned out to have the title locked up after Spearmon's win in the 200m.

(Posted June 12, 2004)