Hog Calls

McDonnell era inspires UA track

Former Arkansas coach John McDonnell (left) and current coach Chris Bucknam speak Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, during the Tyson Invitational in the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville.
Former Arkansas coach John McDonnell (left) and current coach Chris Bucknam speak Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, during the Tyson Invitational in the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- For someone approaching 44 years of chronicling iconic changes in Razorbacks athletics, it's easy to discern who embraces the legacies they inherit and those who are jealous of them.

No staff of coaches at Arkansas have ever had bigger shoes to fill than Arkansas men's track Coach Chris Bucknam and assistants Travis Geopfert and Doug Case.

They inherited, in terms of national championships won, the most successful program in the history of collegiate sports.

And none have embraced their program's past and appreciate its ongoing contributions to the future more than this group of men's track and field coaches.

Bucknam's staff is inspired daily by the 40 national championships won during the era of now retired head coach John McDonnell, retired field events coach Dick Booth and several sprints coaches.

It certainly showed last Saturday during the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas' Randal Tyson Indoor Track.

.Watching Bucknam and field events coach Geopfert react to senior triple-jumper Clive Pullen's hop-step-jump of 56-4¾, which ranks as the best in the world in 2017, makes you realize how much Bucknam and Geopfert appreciate Arkansas' out-of-this-world triple-jump tradition.

As Razorbacks, only Booth-era greats Mike Conley (57-1) and Erick Walder (56-6¾) have exceeded Pullen's indoors achievement. Conley and Walder combined for 19 NCAA long and triple-jump titles between them.

Pullen surpassed other distinguished Arkanas triple-jumpers, including Edrick Floreal (now fourth at 56-2¾), Brian Wellman, Melvn Lister, Jermone Romain and the late Robert Howard, along others.

So when a post McDonnell-era Razorback joins Arkansas' all-time bests, the coaches reflect even as they exude.

Bucknam and Geopfert certainly did.

"You just go and thank Coach Booth and you thank Walder, and you thank Conley and you thank Edrick Floreal for the bar being set so high in so many different events," Bucknam said. "Our guys, they are going for that. All you can do is thank the history because that's what the standard is and our guys gravitate or try to gravitate to the highest standard."

Geopfert blurted out Arkansas' list of best performances before Pullen's place in it was officially announced.

"I don't know where that ranks in the top 10, but with Arkansas triple jump that's up there," Geopfert said seconds after Pullen hit the sand.

Pullen said he was inspired to compete with Arkansas jumpers past because of the presence of Florida and Oklahoma jumpers KeAndre Bates and Hayden McClain present.

Three jumps in, Bates was at 54-6¾, McClain, a personal record, 54-4, and Pullen, ranked, 54-3¼, ranked 1-2-3.

Bates, determined to challenge Pullen's SEC and NCAA Indoor titles, hit a personal best 55-0 during Saturday's final rounds. That pushed Pullen to 55-¾ and 55-2¾ before the giant 56-4¾.

"The competition really fueled him and the crowd was awesome and it couldn't happen to a better young man," Geopfert said of Pullen. "What a great way to do something special here at home."

Sports on 02/13/2017

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