Arkansas looks to extend title streak in Athens

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s cross country will travel to Athens, Georgia, for the Southeastern Conference Championship Friday Oct. 27 in quest of its fifth-consecutive and 18th overall SEC cross country title.

“This is one of those highlight events that our legacy lives by,” coach Lance Harter said. “We’re excited about the opportunity. This year there are more ranked teams than I can remember.”

The Arkansas Twelve

While only five score, Arkansas will compete twelve runners in Athens, the maximum allowed by the league. Coach Lance Harter will field the same group of runners this weekend that ran for a first place finish at the Riverside Invitational 6K (Sept. 19) and a third place finish at the Pre-Nationals 6K (Oct. 14); in addition to the group that took first at the Chile Pepper Festival and the Riverside 5K.

• Sydney Brown
• Ashton Endsley
• Lauren Gregory
• Therese Haiss
• Nikki Hiltz
• Maddy Reed
• Alex Ritchey
• Greta Taylor
• Carina Viljoen
• Taylor Werner
• Ruth Wiggins
• Devin Clark

Rankings Check
No. 6 Arkansas holds its highest national ranking since the conclusion of the 2015 season when it finished ranked No. 5. No. 16 Georgia and No. 22 Ole Miss join Arkansas as the only conference teams ranked for the championship.

The Razorbacks are looking to match their streak of five-consecutive league titles from 1991-1995 and 1998-2002. No other team in the SEC has won more than three-straight. The women’s track and field and cross country programs have won 10-consecutive conference championships dating back to the 2014 outdoor season, which is the longest streak in conference history. Since joining the league in 1992, Arkansas has won 17 of the 25 conference titles in cross country.

Back Where It All Started
Arkansas officially joined the SEC in 1992, but the men’s and women’s cross country teams were the first to compete in SEC events in the fall of 1991 as Harter’s Razorbacks won the school’s first ever Southeastern Conference title. 2017 marks the first time the championship will be held in Athens since 1991.

SEC Championship Totals (Since 1983)
Arkansas (17), Florida (6), Tennessee (5), Kentucky (3), Alabama (2), Vanderbilt (1)

The Razorbacks have faced SEC competition in three races during the regular season, including facing six conference foes at Pre-Nationals. Arkansas also faced Alabama at Riverside and Notre Dame, finishing ahead of the fastest Crimson Tide runner in both events.

SEC Participant Results Pre-Nationals (Points)
3. No. 9 Arkansas – 148
6. No. 25 Georgia – 236
9. No. 12 Ole Miss – 360
24. No. 24 Missouri – 666
33. Tennessee – 820

Back Where It All Started
Arkansas officially joined the SEC in 1992, but the men’s and women’s cross country teams were the first to compete in SEC events in the fall of 1991 as Harter’s Razorbacks won the school’s first ever Southeastern Conference title. 2017 marks the first time the championship will be held in Athens since 1991.

The event is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. central time with the women’s races beginning at 10 a.m. A one-hour SEC Cross Country Championships highlight show will air Sunday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. CT on the SEC Network. Live scoring will be available at SECSports.com, and Primetime Scoring.

2017 Cross Country Schedule
Fri, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Duals (Stillwater, Okla.) 2^nd of 4
Sat, Sept. 16 – Riverside Invitational (Riverside, Calif.) 1^st of 29
Sat, Sept. 16 – Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo.) 5^th of 32
Fri, Sept. 29 – Joe Piane/Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) 4^th of 20
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) 1^st of 45
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) | 1^st of 43
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas)
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)