No. 6 Razorbacks Extend Championship Streak
ATHENS, Ga. – The Arkansas women’s cross country team placed four in the top ten to extend its Southeastern Conference championship streak to five Friday morning in Athens, Georgia.
The Razorbacks have now won 18 cross country conference championships, more than the 13 other conference teams combined. Dating back to 2014, Arkansas has won 11-consecutive conference titles including indoor and outdoor track and field.
Sophomore Taylor Werner paced Arkansas and set a personal record while finishing second overall with a time of 20:07.10. Her second place finish marked the fifth consecutive year the Razorbacks have had a top-two finishers at the SEC championships.
“We went out and raced with heart and passion for each other,” Werner said. “It was amazing to turn around at the end and see a group of white jerseys all finish so close together.”
Carina Viljoen, Therese Haiss, and Lauren Gregory finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively to round out Arkansas’ top-10 performers. It was the first time since 2007 that Arkansas placed four runners in the top 10. Since 1991, the Razorbacks have finished with four or more runners in the top 10 seven times.
Gregory continues her impressive freshman campaign with her eighth-place finish as the top-overall freshman at the SEC championships. Since her debut at the Riverside Invitational (Sept. 16), the Fort Collins, Colorado native has three SEC Freshman of the Week honors while finishing as the top overall freshman in two of her four races this season.
Senior Nikki Hiltz rounded out Arkansas’ scoring with a 12th-place finish and a time of 20:49.50. With all five scorers finishing in the top-12, Arkansas scored a total of 35 points, its lowest since 2014 when it scored 32.
Team Results (Top Five)
1. No. 6 Arkansas – 35 (2-6-7-8-12)
2. No. 16 Georgia – 88 (4-5-18-28-33)
3. No. 22 Ole Miss – 103 (15-19-20-24-25)
4. Missouri – 164 (1-29-39-46-49)
5. Mississippi State – 167 (9-11-40-41-66)
Arkansas Results (Overall)
2. Taylor Werner – 20:07.10
6. Carina Viljoen – 20:29.10
7. Therese Haiss – 20:39.20
8. Lauren Gregory – 20:41.20
12. Nikki Hiltz – 20:49.50
All-SEC Razorbacks
1st Team
Taylor Werner
Carina Viljoen
Therese Haiss
2nd Team
Lauren Gregory
Nikki Hiltz
Ashton Endsley
All-Freshman Team
Lauren Gregory
Ashton Endsley
Back Where It All Started
This year’s trip to Athens marked the first time since 1991 that the Razorbacks ran at the Georgia Golf Course. Arkansas won the University’s first SEC title that year and have won 18-of-26 titles since.
Up Next
The Razorbacks will take a two week break from postseason action before traveling to College Station, Texas for the NCAA South Central Regionals Nov. 10.
2017 Cross Country Schedule
Fri, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Duals (Stillwater, Okla.) | 2nd of 4
Sat, Sept. 16 – Riverside Invitational (Riverside, Calif.) | 1st of 29
Sat, Sept. 16 – Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo.) | 5th of 32
Fri, Sept. 29 – Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) | 4th of 20
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) | 1st of 45
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) | 3rd of 43
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.) | 1st of 14
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas)
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
