No. 3 Razorbacks ready to complete next step for NCAA Championship berth

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 3 Arkansas returns to Texas A&M’s Watts course for the NCAA South Central Region meet on Friday, November15. This time the Razorbacks will race over a 10,000m distance with a start time of 10 a.m.

The top two teams will earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships that will be held on Saturday, November 23, in Madison, Wisconsin. With nine region meets, 18 teams will gain entry by placing among the top two. Additional teams will be selected at-large to fill out a 31-team field.

Live results will be available at Flash Results. There is no live stream of the region meet.

“We’ll try not to get ahead of ourselves to next week in Madison,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “That is just keep a lid on these guys, and not think about Madison. We have to think about what we’re doing each and every day.

“Everything we do has to be deliberate, from what you eat to how you sleep to how you organize your studies. Everything is in play starting the week before the SEC Championships. So, we’re in this mode right now.”

In the South Central Region, Arkansas and Texas have each earned the automatic selection for the past 11 meets with the Razorbacks winning seven of those encounters. Racing in College Station, Arkansas has claimed each of the five region team titles (2001, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022).

Ranked No. 3 nationally, Arkansas holds the top position in the South Central Region and are followed by Tulane, Texas, Texas A&M and Incarnate Word. Tulane finished third behind Texas and Arkansas in 2023, matching its highest finish from 2001.

“I’m really pleased with how this team has jelled and come together,” noted Bucknam of a Razorback squad that has claimed team titles at Chile Pepper Festival, Wisconsin Pre-Nationals, and the SEC Championships. “They enjoy being with each other, they enjoy practicing, and I’m really pleased with that part of it.

“That resulted in a good championship result in the SEC meet. Now we just need to take care of business one day at a time.”

Teams are limited to seven runners in the region meet and Arkansas will select from a group of 11 Razorbacks.

Patrick Kiprop has won the individual title in the past two South Central Region meets while Kirami Yego finished as runner-up in 2023 and Elias Schreml placed third in 2022. Tommy Romanow placed 20th a year ago in earning an All-Region honor for a top 25 finish.

Yaseen Abdalla placed fourth with Texas during the 2021 South Central Region, when the Longhorns edged the Razorbacks by four points (35-39) for the team title. Then Abdalla transferred to Tennessee and finished second in 2022 and third in 2023 at the South Region meet.

Racing in the Great Lakes Region while at Akron, Timothy Chesondin finished eighth in 2023 while Brian Masai placed 41st.

Additional Razorbacks that the seven competitors will be selected from include Ben Shearer, Reuben Reina, Donovan Bitticks, and Davis Helmerich.

Arkansas returns to the same course they won the SEC team title a couple of weeks ago and will race over 10k in the region meet after an 8k distance in the conference meet.

“I think it’s really good,” stated Bucknam. “The thing I like the most about it is that it’s a short trip down to College Station. So, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to get there.

“Secondly, the course itself, its one that we’re very familiar with and we’ve had success on. It looks like it will be fairly dry, which is good since we can wear the type of footwear we want to wear and be ready for the next step afterwards.”

South Central Region Rankings