Cragg continues indoor dominance

IRELAND’S Alistair Cragg continued his indoor season in flawless fashion with a double victory at the 2004 Southeastern Conference Championships in Lexington, Kentucky at the weekend.

The Johannesburg-born Irishman, competing out of the University of Arkansas, has been in blistering form since Christmas, having broken Frank O’Mara’s Irish 3000 metre indoor record on his home track in Fayetteville, Arkansas with a time of 7:38.59 on February 14.

Cragg broke more records in Kentucky when he took both the 3000m and 5000m titles to finish the meet as the joint top points scorer and become the first track athlete in SEC history to win the award three consecutive times. The double victory also took him to five SEC individual championships.

The more significant victory was in Sunday’s 5000m, which Cragg won in 13:42.95 to post a qualifying time for the national collegiate championships, NCAAs, in Fayetteville on March 12-13.

Cragg blew away the field with a devastating solo run and crossed the finish line more than 20 seconds in front of team-mate Jason Sandfort (14:05.42) to break a 14-year old SEC championship meet record.

Cragg had successfully defended his SEC 3000m title 24 hours earlier in a slower, more tactical race, clocking 7:59.25 in a race where his University of Arkansas Razorback team-mates placed second, fourth and seventh behind him.

“The 3,000 was as close to perfect as it could be,” said Arkansas head coach, John McDonnell from Mayo. “Alistair ran great and he really helped Jason (Sandfort) break the pack and take second. When you have a horse out front like that, he just helps make everything happen. Alistair is a talented guy.”

Cragg said: “The 3K was a more tactical team effort but the 5K was more satisfying I guess. It’s a long way to run when you’re out on your own. But I got my qualifying time for the NCAAs and that’s the main thing.”

Cragg can now double up at the NCAAs to defend both his titles before crossing the Atlantic to represent Ireland in Brussels in the 4km race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 20.

In Boston at the New England Championships, Mullingar’s Martin Fagan gave Providence’s head coach Ray Treacy a victory in the mile in 4:07.02 while Liam Reale of Hospital, Co. Limerick clocked a personal best 1:49.81 to get third in the 800m.

There was a personal best also for Tallaght’s Sean Connolly in the 5000m at the New York University Fast Track Invitational meet in Manhattan. The Iona College runner broke the magical 14-minute barrier to clock 13:55.93 and lower his PB by almost 19 seconds as he finished third behind team-mate Richard Kiplagat (13:42.29).