The University of Arkansas placed third in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2004; in 2003, they were fifth; in 2002, Arkansas was sixth and in 2001, the Razorbacks placed third. It was five years ago, on the 20th of November 2000, in artic conditions at Iowa State University that the Arkansas squad last won the team title.

For most institutions this would be an impressive record but for Arkansas' John McDonnell this is a drought. Five years without a cross country national championship is too long for a coach who has won 41 NCAA championships since 1984, including 11 cross country, 18 indoor track and 12 outdoor track.

Whilst last season McDonnell who hails from Crossmolina, Co Mayo, had trouble finding seven athletes to put on the starting line, this season will be like the Glory Days in Fayetteville where he could no doubt field two squads that could qualify for the Championships.

The Hogs are built to win and not just this year. There's a great mixture of talented youth and returning All-Americans.

The team will be led by Kenyans Josphat Boit and Peter Kosgei along with Australian Shawn Forrest. Boit, a senior from Eldoret, has track bests of 13.17.12 for 5,000m and 28.07.27 for 10,000 metres. Kosgei, from Kapsabet, has run 13.38.65 (5k), 28.08.97 (10k) and 8.29.13 in the 3,000m steeplechase. Forrest, a sophomore from Melbourne has less impressive track credentials (13.57.94, 29.11.67) but has already run 24.01.7 on the challenging and historic 8k/5-mile Van Cortlandt Park course in New York.

Add to this, three of the top American high school harriers, a prize usually associated with Stanford, a 2004 cross country All-American in Marc Rodriquez (25th) and the Hogs should be loaded. The freshmen are Footlocker National Champion, Kenny Cormier (Douglass, Arizona), Footlocker 5th placer Chris Barnicle (Newton, Massachusetts and Scott MacPherson (Plano, Texas).

Arkansas' prize recruit Irishman Colin Costello, the European Junior 1,500m champion will not be competing this fall to recover from his long and successful summer of competition.

"We've got top guys," McDonnell said. "We've got great depth. We can be a pretty tough team, not just this year. It's a team for the future."

Arkansas, a team which never has to be too concerned with merely qualifying for the NCAA Championships does a few unique things with their schedule. First, they skip the Pre-National meet held at the site of the championships. McDonnell says the kids can run the course before the meet when they arrive. The Razorbacks also have their athletes compete in a 10-kilometre race prior to the NCAA Regional and Championship meets. McDonnell believes that the risk of fatigue is outweighed by the experience of going the extra two kilometres.

The University of Arkansas team can afford to travel to any meet they fancy. In addition to adding the Iona College's Meet of Champions in the Bronx, New York to their schedule, the Razorbacks will be competing in the Belfast Cross Country Invitational in Northern Ireland in January 2006. "We're going to different places this year, so it's a nice change and we'll see better competition," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said.

Arkansas was ranked 3rd in the Pre-Season Mondo NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Poll conducted by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association. They moved up to #2 after the impressive showing at Iona Meet of Champions. In this week's poll, the Arkansas team is ranked #1 - a spot they will most likely never relinquish.

In the October 2005 issue of Track & Field News, Peter Kosgei is predicted to win the individual national title at the NCAA Championships. Boit, who finished third in 2004, is down to come in fifth place. The UA team is picked to finish in the runner-up spot - as if McDonnell needs more fodder to motivate his Hogs?