Razorbacks earn a second consecutive team title
JOPLIN, Missouri – Arkansas women’s cross country claimed a second consecutive team title, scoring 38 points to win the Missouri Southern Stampede on Saturday morning on the Tom Rutledge course.
The Razorbacks top five runners placed among the top 12 finishers in the 5,000m race. Leading the Arkansas crew were Gracie Hyde and Taylor Ewert, who placed third and fourth. Hyde covered the course in 16:59.5, producing her first sub-17-minute time in cross country. Ewert, who led the field for two-thirds of the race, posted a time of 17:06.0.
“This meet gave a perfect opportunity for some of the people who are still on the concourse of developing in this part of the season and hopefully have ambitions of being in our SEC team as well as the national team,” stated Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter.
“It allowed some of runners to be near the front of the field and it was a major coup for Gracie and Taylor. It was a huge improvement for Gracie, who previously ran here while at Central Arkansas, and improved by 55 on this course.”
Finishing behind the Razorbacks in team scoring were Southwest Baptist (130 points), Dallas Baptist (140), West Texas A&M (176), and Drury (208). The field of 26 teams included a mixture of Division I and II schools.
Razorbacks among the scoring five included London Culbreath, who placed eighth in 17:24.9, as well as Corie Smith and Adoette Vaughan, who finished 11th and 12th with times of 17:28.0 and 17:29.5, respectively.
“London and Corie are coming back from setbacks during the course of the summer,” noted Harter. “So, that was a big vote of confidence in what happened today for them. We are headed in the right direction. Adeotte, as well, made a very positive step forward compared to our opener in Missouri.”
Also racing for the Razorbacks were Quinn Owen (33rd, 18:05.6) and Josie Carson (57th, 18:32.0) among a field of 252 finishers.
“We’re headed in the right direction as far as training goes,” added Harter. “We rested eighth people who trained yesterday instead of racing today. It just proves that our depth is exceptional.”
