Arkansas Nabs Three Of Four SEC Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The seventh-ranked Arkansas women’s cross country team picked up three out of the four Southeastern Conference year-end awards in recognition of the program’s dominant title performance at the 2016 championship meet.
A conference silver medalist and outstanding performer in the classroom, sophomore Devin Clark was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Since she opened her season in early October at the Chile Pepper Festival, Clark has remained steadfast as the Razorbacks out-right No. 1 runner. Through three races, Arkansas’ young leader has a trio of top-eight finishes in loaded fields including two runner-up outings.
Fellow underclassman Abby Gray also received recognition, picking up the SEC Freshman of the Year award. Gray was Arkansas’ No. 2 finisher, navigating the 6K course in 20 minutes, 52.50 seconds to place ninth overall in her championship debut. She was rewarded not only as the top freshman but also earned second team All-SEC honors.
Responsible for coaching the young group to success, head coach Lance Harter was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the 17th time of his illustrious career. The winningest coach in conference history, Harter’s talented squad featured a solid mix of both young and veteran runners, boasting four underclassmen in his top seven at the conference meet. Several of members of Harter’s crew earned spots on the All-SEC teams with Clark leading the way as the sole member of the first team.
Razorbacks selected to the second team included Gray, Valerie Reina, Therese Haiss and Nikki Hiltz. Gray was joined on the All-Freshman team by teammates Taylor Werner and Carina Viljoen.
Arkansas looks to keep the momentum going this weekend at the NCAA South Central Region Championship and capture its sixth-consecutive regional title in front of its home crowd. The regional meet will be held on Friday, Nov. 11, beginning with the women’s 6K race at 11 a.m. CT and closing with the men’s 10K race at 12 p.m. Admission is free to fans of all ages.
SEC Awards
Women’s Runner of the Year: Karissa Schweizer, Missouri
Women’s Freshman Runner of the Year: Abby Gray, Arkansas
Women’s Coach of the Year: Lance Harter, Arkansas
Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Devin Clark, Arkansas
Women’s First Team All-SEC
Karissa Schweizer, Missouri
Devin Clark, Arkansas
Katy Kunc, Kentucky
Veronica Eder, Auburn
Jamie Kempfer, Missouri
Elisabeth Bergh, Florida
Mary Alex England, Ole Miss
Women’s Second Team All-SEC
Bo Ummels, Ole Miss
Abby Gray, Arkansas
Valerie Reina, Arkansas
Sara Tsai, Vanderbilt
Therese Haiss, Arkansas
Nikki Hiltz, Arkansas
Jessica Drop, Georgia
Women’s Freshman All-SEC Team
Abby Gray, Arkansas
Jessica Drop, Georgia
Taylor Werner, Arkansas
McKenzie Yanek, Alabama
Carina Viljoen, Arkansas
Samantha Drop, Georgia
Jessica Pascoe, Florida
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
