Tyson to showcase Ulrey, No. 1 Razorbacks among world's best
Track & Field
Matt Watson
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: Sports
Earlier this week former Arkansas track coach John McDonnell put his arm around junior Dorian Ulrey and said, "Dorian's gonna be a great one."
And McDonnell isn't easily impressed. He's a 30-time national coach of the year, owns 40 national championships and coached 185 All-Americans in his 36-year tenure on the Hill.
"It's great to have John McDonnell say that, but it's another thing for me to go out and actually do it," Ulrey said.
But Ulrey, who will compete in the newly named John McDonnell Mile on Friday night, is impressing everyone in his first season as a Razorback.
Three weeks into the indoor track season, he had already qualified for nationals in three different events - the mile, the 3,000 meters and the distance-medley relay.
Ulrey etched his name in the Razorback record books with a 3:57 mile run earlier this season, good for ninth all-time at Arkansas. A week later, he and three teammates broke 3:54 three-fifty-four mile split, which on its own would break Arkansas' oldest track record, a 3:55 mile run by Nial O'Shaughnessy in 1977.
"I think the great part of being a Razorback is it's synonymous with a good performance on the track, so I think it's what people expect, and its what I expect for myself," Ulrey said.
The 21-year-old has seemingly come out of nowhere and is now starring for the No. 1 track team in the country. That's because just last year, Ulrey was watching the Tyson Invitational on television.
"I know the morning that I decided to make my decision to come to the University of Arkansas, I turned on the TV and I saw Alistair [Cragg] running the 5K," Ulrey said.
The 13-time All-American Cragg won seven NCAA championships as a Razorback between 2001-04 and raced in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics.
"It was a rerun, but it was kind of special to me."
Ulrey had been to Fayetteville as a member of the Northern Iowa track team, when he finished runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2007 to earn All-America honors. Before that, he had only wondered what it would be like to compete in one of the greatest track venues in the world for collegiate track's most illustrious program.
And McDonnell isn't easily impressed. He's a 30-time national coach of the year, owns 40 national championships and coached 185 All-Americans in his 36-year tenure on the Hill.
"It's great to have John McDonnell say that, but it's another thing for me to go out and actually do it," Ulrey said.
But Ulrey, who will compete in the newly named John McDonnell Mile on Friday night, is impressing everyone in his first season as a Razorback.
Three weeks into the indoor track season, he had already qualified for nationals in three different events - the mile, the 3,000 meters and the distance-medley relay.
Ulrey etched his name in the Razorback record books with a 3:57 mile run earlier this season, good for ninth all-time at Arkansas. A week later, he and three teammates broke 3:54 three-fifty-four mile split, which on its own would break Arkansas' oldest track record, a 3:55 mile run by Nial O'Shaughnessy in 1977.
"I think the great part of being a Razorback is it's synonymous with a good performance on the track, so I think it's what people expect, and its what I expect for myself," Ulrey said.
The 21-year-old has seemingly come out of nowhere and is now starring for the No. 1 track team in the country. That's because just last year, Ulrey was watching the Tyson Invitational on television.
"I know the morning that I decided to make my decision to come to the University of Arkansas, I turned on the TV and I saw Alistair [Cragg] running the 5K," Ulrey said.
The 13-time All-American Cragg won seven NCAA championships as a Razorback between 2001-04 and raced in both the Athens and Beijing Olympics.
"It was a rerun, but it was kind of special to me."
Ulrey had been to Fayetteville as a member of the Northern Iowa track team, when he finished runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2007 to earn All-America honors. Before that, he had only wondered what it would be like to compete in one of the greatest track venues in the world for collegiate track's most illustrious program.
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