O'Sullivan "Frustrated but Not Disappointed" in Men's 4 x 800

Fourth-place finish in 4x800 leaves Villanova 'frustrated'

By Joe Juliano
Philadelphia Inquirer
April 29, 2012

Villanova men's track coach Marcus O'Sullivan thought for a long time before deciding that the Wildcats had a better shot at winning the 4x800-meter relay than they did the 4-by-mile.

And the Wildcats almost pulled a surprise, staying competitive for the entire race before finishing fourth to Penn State by 1.28 seconds.

"I'm frustrated, but I'm not disappointed," said O'Sullivan, who watched his distance-medley relay team run a similarly tough race on Friday. "I figured with the bookends [1,200- and 1,600-meter legs] on the DMR falling a bit short, not having that big of a pop, and teams like Princeton, Indiana, and Oklahoma all strong and deep, then our best bet was to move into the 4x8."

O'Sullivan said he thought the 4x800 would give Wildcats anchor Samuel Ellison "a fighting shot." And Ellison, an Upper Dublin High grad and one of three sophomores on the relay team, almost pulled it off before tiring in the final 25 meters.

"I felt pretty good," Ellison said. "Elijah Greer [Oregon] and Robby Creese [Penn State] are two of the best runners in the country. I was just trying to stay in it as long as I could. I tried my best."

1. Penn State  7:19.76  
     Dawson (1:50.8), Brennan (1:50.8), Loxsom (1:49.3), Creese (1:48.9)
 
2. Oregon  7:20.22  
     Thompson (1:51.2), Hornsby (1:50.2), Guyota (1:49.6), Greer (1:49.1) 

3. Columbia  7:20.80
     Claflin (1:51.2), Fish (1:49.9), Tansey (1:49.8), McFann (1:49.9)
 
4. Villanova  7:21.04  
     Tetreault (1:51.2), McEntee (1:49.6), Fitzsimons (1:50.1), Ellison (1:50.1)
  
5. Texas A&M  7:21.59
     Bonn (1:52.5), Roberts (1:47.9), Ramirez (1:50.4), Preble (1:50.8)
 
6. Cornell  7:26.38
     Bice (1:52.7), Wade (1:50.8), Weinlandt (1:51.3), Admirand (1:52.4)
 
7. Princeton  7:29.34
     Dinkins (1:50.9), Paternostro (1:49.4), Palmisano (1:53.3), Van Ackeren (1:55.7)
  
8. Houston  7:30.19
      Kaapa (1:52.0), Coleman (1:50.0), Fernando (1:52.3), Pineda (1:55.9)
 
9. Georgia Tech  7:31.10
     Fanelty (1:53.0), Scheff (1:51.9), Clifford (1:54.1), Roberts (1:52.1)
 
10. Tennessee  7:33.98
      Kaiser (1:52.1), Thompson (1:52.6), Franklin (1:53.2), Carter (1:56.0)
 
11. Indiana  7:37.63
      Holahan (1:52.4), Hindes (1:53.3), Turner (1:54.5), Stockberger (1:57.2)
 
12. St. Francis (NY)  7:43.91
      Ksepka (1:55.4), Gilhuley (1:55.7), Gilhuley (1:58.0), Nersten (1:54.8)