Nick Busienei collects another SEC Freshman of the Week honor

FAYETTEVILLE – For the second time this season Razorback Nick Busienei has earned a SEC Freshman of the Week accolade after placing 16th amid a very talented field at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

Arkansas’ fourth-place team performance in the meet moved them to No. 7 in the USTFCCCA national rankings as the Razorbacks improved nine spots from a previous ranking of No. 16.

Busienei finished second among the Arkansas crew as teammate Ernest Cheruiyot placed 15th in the race. Cheruiyot covered the 8,000m course in 22:54.4 with Busienei delivering a time of 22:55.4.

The Razorback pair opened the season with a 1-2 finish at the Gans Creek Classic and each earned SEC honors following that performance.

Busienei finished third among freshmen in the Nuttycombe race as Colorado’s Meshack Kipruto (22:30.1) and New Mexico’s Pasanjo Kitonga (22:30.8) were first and second overall.

The USTFCCCA national top 10 is led by New Mexico, who received all 11 first-place votes, followed by Oklahoma State, Colorado, Alabama, BYU, Oregon, Arkansas, Syracuse, Florida, and Wake Forest. An additional SEC school in the top 20 is No. 18 Tennessee.

Arkansas ranks No. 1 in the South Central region, followed by Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, TCU, Texas, Houston, Texas A&M, and McNeese State.