Baseball: Sipsey Valley sweeps first-round playoff series. 3C
S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 21 , 2012
Sports
SECTION C
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he Tuscaloosa News spotlights the University of Alabama’s top five prospects for Thursday’s NFL Draft. Mark Barron, Courtney Upshaw, Dont’a Hightower, Dre Kirkpatrick and Trent Richardson are considered first-round selections.
THE PERFECT
TRIATHLETE By Morgan Upton
MARK BARRON
Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Height: 6-1 Weight: 214 pounds Position: Safety Stats: Barron made 68 tackles in 2011, ranking second on the UA defense. With five tackles for loss, two interceptions and five pass breakups, the senior was UA’s most productive defensive back. Projection: Mid-first round Most likely destinations: Dallas Cowboys (14th), New York Jets (16th), Cincinnati Bengals (17th and 21st), San Diego Chargers (18th). Scouts like: Barron’s game film impresses scouts most from a run support standpoint. His instincts for tackling essentially make him an extra linebacker in stopping the run. Shows solid coverage skills in the flats against tight ends and running backs. Communication/signal-calling skills also a plus. Scouts don’t like: One scout told The Tuscaloosa News, “The further he gets away from the line of scrimmage, the less instinctive he becomes.” Can Barron excel at the NFL level covering wide receivers, particularly on deeper routes? That will be a key training camp question no matter which team he ends up with. Offseason stock: Barron had hernia surgery after the season, causing him to miss both the Senior Bowl in his hometown of Mobile and the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, as well as Alabama’s first Pro Day March 7. A couple of weeks later, however, Barron solidified his first-round status with a strong performance in a follow-up Pro Day workout. There, he turned in 40yard dash times of 4.56 and 4.57, along with a 10’2” broad jump. ESPN’s Todd McShay says: “I haven’t heard any team I’ve talked to say they’re concerned about the hernia surgery. ... He’s the best safety in this class, and I’d be shocked if he fell out of the middle to later first round range.” The bottom line: Barron is believed to be the top safety on the draft boards of most NFL clubs. The first of those clubs to draft out of need for the position will take him, if he’s not already gone.
TUSCALOOSA | Swim. Bike. Run. As individual sports, each creates its own athlete. Combine the three, however, and one of the most unique and elite athletes in the sports world is created: the triathlete. While most professional athletes earn glory and fame, many of the world’s top triathletes will not be known by anyone outside their sport. Simply put, they are a rare breed. Success does not come from being good at one thing, but a combination of power, effi -
ciency, mechanics, preparedness and mental toughness. Balance in all of these categories is necessary for a perfect triathlete. Those disciplines will all be on display today when Tuscaloosa hosts the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship. Cathy Pagani, a professor at the University of Alabama, who competed in the 2011 International Triathlon Union World Championships, said power is important but cannot stand on its own. “You can have all the power in the world, but you will burn out,” Pagani said. “You’ve got to have gas in the tank for the very end.” SEE T RIATHLETE | 6C
USA TRIATHLON Collegiate National Championship ■ When: Women’s race 7:30 a.m.; men’s race 10:30 a.m.; mixed team relay 4 p.m. ■ Where: Transition staging area at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
Swim Collegiate National Championship Course:
About the event: The first and shortest leg of a triathlon, this portion is often considered the
1,500 Meters (.93 miles) Water Temperature 69°
warm-up. Swimmers are more concerned with energy conservation than with the split time. This is achieved through a number of tools, techniques and strategies.
Strategy: Strong swimmers may exert a little more energy to get to the front quickly in order to avoid the traffic in the middle of the field, whereas the weaker swimmers will lag behind and catch the wake of the front-runners. Both strategies are designed to retain energy levels.
Technique: Although there is no regulation on the style of swimming, almost all contestants
choose the freestyle, concentrating on relaxed breathing, a long torpedo-like form and torso pivots with each stroke for a more natural motion. Swimmers will rarely arch their heads forward using the side to side motion instead to reduce drag.
Tools: While wet suits were originally introduced to
protect the athlete from cold temperatures by trapping a thin layer of water between the suit and the swimmer, researchers have found that they also make the wearer more buoyant, relieving some of the strain to stay afloat. Rules on limited use of wet suits are set to go into effect in 2013.
TRANSITION 1
ALABAMA GYMNASTICS
Athletes run to their bikes, where they towel off and change into their helmet, socks, shoes, numbers and additional clothing, if needed. Clothing items will be rolled inside out so that the contestant can easily roll them over the wet skin.
Bike
Collegiate National Championship Course: 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) About the event: The bike portion of the triathlon is the longest of the three
legs, incorporating speed and energy conservation. Push yourself to hard and it will cost you in the end.
Strategy: Don’t tax the run muscles. While theories differ on the exact time to push or “grind” it out, most athletes and coaches agree that a high cadence or higher RPM during most of the leg saves the firing muscles needed in the run portion of the race. In the late stages of the leg, bikers will fall into a smooth, high cadence rhythm that mimics the rhythm of the run and begin stretching out the calves and hamstring muscles needed for run portion of the triathlon.
PHOTO | JASON GETZ
University of Alabama gymnasts (from left) Diandra Milliner, Hunter Dennis and Lora Leigh Frost cheer on teammate Kayla Williams during her beam exercise Friday at the NCAA gymnastics semifinal session at the Arena at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
Bama wins session, advances to Super Six By Laura Owens
Special to The Tuscaloosa News
DULUTH, GA . | Alabama gets another night to compete. When the season came down to scoring high or going home, the No. 4 University of Alabama gymnastics team advanced to the Super Six with a score of 197.675 Friday night at the NCAA Championships. The score is the team’s secSUPER SIX TEAMS ond-highest of the season. Alabama’s strongest event of These six teams will compete tonight for the NCAA title. the night was its fi rst, the balance beam, and that performance carNo. 1 Florida ried the team through the rest of No. 2 UCLA the meet. No. 4 Alabama “(The environment) had the flavor No. 7 Utah of the SEC Championships, but the best No. 8 Arkansas part was we performed better,” coach No. 10 Stanford Sarah Patterson said. “Certainly, coming The Super Six begins at 3 p.m. out on balance beam, the hardest event, Alabama receives a bye before to start on, we put the pressure on everystarting to the floor exercise. body else. I think that was a huge step for us.” While the balance beam gave the Crimson Tide trouble in the SEC Championships, Alabama dominated its fi rst rotation Friday night. With five scores of 9.9 or better, Alabama took an early lead with a 49.6 team score. SEE SUPER SIX | 4C
Rules: Most penalties occur during the bike portion of the race. For a non-drafting race, a three-bike distance between racers is required, passing must be done on the left and within a short time span, and those that are passed must drop to the three-bike distance before attempting to repass. Rule violations will result in time penalties. Three violations result in an automatic disqualification. TRANSITION 2 The athlete dismounts the bike and changes into the running shoes. Special triathlon running shoes are made to slip on quickly and easily, still offering a snug fit by use of a drawstring. The body may take a few moments to adjust to actual running or walking.
Source: Active.com, British Journal of Sports Medicine, USA Triathlon.org, The 12 Week Triathlete and Men’s Health Magazine.
Run
Collegiate National Championship Course: 5 Kilometers (3.1 miles)
About the event: The final leg of the race is the most grueling. Runners must rid the legs of the jelly-like feeling that occurs during the first two or three minutes. Strategy: Endure. By now the body has lost a lot of fluid and it’s crucial to maintain a healthy balance or carbs and liquids. High sodium energy drinks are recommended. In the meantime, each athlete must concentrate on a good form for minimal energy loss. Longer strides produced by the firing muscles cover more ground with less resistance. A tall, straight posture allows the runners free movement of their hips and helps them to propel their legs forward. By now, circulation of the oxygen to the muscles is diminishing and the body is breaking down lactic acid as a substitute for muscle nourishment. Athletes need to loosen all muscles not being used including clenched fists and mouths, in an effort to get the blood flowing more freely throughout the body. Next, reach the finish line. STAFF GRAPHIC | ANTHONY BRATINA