Arkansas Women Claim No. 2 Spot in Program of the Year Final Standings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Following the completion of a storied year highlighted by the program’s first national championship, the University of Arkansas women’s program posted its highest Terry Crawford Program of the Year finish moving up from last year’s third place rank to claim the No. 2 spot with 10 points. The final standings for the award were announced Tuesday morning by the USTFCCCA.

The Terry Crawford Program of the Year award is named after USTFCCCA hall of famer and former Cal Poly head coach, Terry Crawford who led her teams to five national titles and over 20 conference championships. The award, which began in 2008-09 measures a program’s combined success in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track and field. Points are awarded based on the team’s finish at each NCAA Championship with first place equaling one point. This is the third consecutive year the Razorbacks have finished as one of the top three programs.

Arkansas’ road to the No. 2 position began during its cross country season where Razorbacks claimed their second consecutive SEC title led by the SEC Runner of the Year Dominique Scott. Five Arkansas runners placed in the top 12 out of 123 student-athletes competing in the championship. The Razorbacks went on to finish fifth overall at the NCAA championships, their highest finish in eight years on the heels of their five scoring runners who all placed within the top 100 to collect a score of 209 points.

Arkansas carried the momentum from the course to the track capping their indoor season with not only an SEC title but also the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships, the first in program history. The Razorbacks captured national titles in three events with SEC Co-Field Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year Sandi Morris equaling the NCAA indoor meet record with a final clearance of 4.60m/15-1 and Scott at 3,000 meters and as part of the distance medley relay team of Jessica Kamilos, Sparkle McKnight and Therese Haiss. McKnight also teamed up with Daina Harper and fellow double scorers Taylor Ellis-Watson (400m) and Chrishuna Williams (800m) to grab the runner-up title in the 4×400 meter relay.

The Razorbacks entered outdoor postseason on a high note completing their regular season with an SEC outdoor title to wrap up the SEC triple crown. Arkansas continued success at the NCAA West preliminary round, securing 17 qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene. At the national meet Scott and Morris led the way combining for 24 of the team’s 43 points to help the Razorbacks finish fourth, the highest finish in program history.

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter