TRACK AND FIELD Cragg, Campbell shelved from NCAA outdoor meet

The Arkansas runner and sprinter also were sidelined from the regional.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Six-time national collegiate champion Alistair Cragg will not defend his 5,000-meter title this week at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Arkansas withdrew his name from an appeal to the championship committee on Monday. Also, Arkansas sprinter Veronica Campbell had her appeal to run in the 100 and 200 events rejected.
Arkansas coaches have said they believed, on advice from the referee at the regional meet last weekend, that both Cragg and Campbell would receive medical waivers allowing them to sit out those events at the regional but still compete at the NCAAs.
Two other schools also appealed interpretation of the medical rule at the regional meet.
This is the second year of an NCAA format that requires athletes to qualify for the national meet through regional competition.
Shelved
Cragg sat out the 5,000 because of a cramp in his left calf, and Campbell didn't run the 100 and 200 because of a strained hamstring.
Cragg will still compete in the 10,000 at the NCAAs, his last race for Arkansas, because that event is not contested at the regional level. Instead, that event's entry list is based on times accumulated during the season.
Campbell will run in the 400 relay.
Arkansas men's track coach John McDonnell said he dropped Cragg's appeal because the process was taking too long and coming too close to the NCAA meet, which starts Wednesday in Austin, Texas.
"You don't get prepared for a race like that overnight," McDonnell said in a statement released by the Arkansas sports information department. "I didn't want to jeopardize his health and future career, since it's an Olympic year. We had to get our team ready and they needed to know who is running what."
Slated for Olympics
Cragg, who was born in South Africa, will compete for Ireland in the Olympics. Earlier this year, he became the first person to repeat as NCAA indoor champion in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters.
In addition to winning the 5,000 at last year's NCAA outdoor championships, he was co-champion with Arkansas teammate Dan Lincoln in the 10,000, as the two crossed the finish line together.
Cragg's school record time of 13 minutes, 16.98 seconds in the 5,000 on April 30 is almost five seconds faster than any other collegiate runner this year.
Arkansas is the defending men's team champion outdoors, and still is a favorite this year, even without Cragg in the 5,000.
"We have a lot of good athletes at the meet," McDonnell said, "and they'll be able to pick up the slack."