Razorbacks No. 20 in USTFCCCA Preseason Rankings

NEW ORLEANS, LA — The Arkansas men’s cross country team enters 2019 ranked No. 20 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason National Coaches Poll, announced Tuesday afternoon.

The Razorbacks are one of only three Southeastern Conference teams featured amount the preseason rankings with Ole Miss checking in at No. 14, and Alabama at No. 26.

Arkansas ended the 2018 season with a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, having finished in the top-10 previous three years, with the last two coming in the form of top-five finishes in 2016 and 2017.

While the Razorbacks lost Cameron Griffith and Ethan Moehn, who finished third and 14th, respectively, at last years SEC meet, Arkansas returns SEC Champion Gilbert Boit, Ryan Murphy and Graham Brown who finished first, ninth, and 17th in Auburn, Ala. last year with two of the three earning All-SEC honors. Arkansas also returns Matt Young, who was an All-Region performer for the Razorbacks at the South Central meet last season.

The 2019 cross country season beings Saturday as the Razorbacks travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to compete at the Hurricane Invitational. The 2019 SEC Cross Country Championships are slated to take place Friday, Nov. 1 in Lexington, Ky.

2019 USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Northern Arizona
2. BYU
3. Washington
4. Colorado
5. Iowa State
6. Portland
7. Oklahoma State
8. Wisconsin
9. Notre Dame
10. Stanford
11. Oregon
12. Syracuse
13. NC State
14. Ole Miss
15. Indiana
16. Wyoming
17. Colorado State
18. Michigan
19. Iona
20. Arkansas
21. Princeton
22. UCLA
23. Virginia
24. Purdue
25. Southern Utah
26. Alabama
27. Air Force
28. Villanova
29. Tulsa
30. Boise State

Monday, the Division I Preseason Regional Rankings (South Central) and the SEC Cross Country Coaches Preseason Poll were released, predicting Arkansas to grab the top spot in the region and third-place in the conference.

The Razorbacks have claimed eight of the last nine SEC XC Championships and 25 in the last 28 years. In total Arkansas has claimed 50 conference titles.

2019 Division I Preseason Regional Rankings (South Central)

1. Arkansas
2. Texas
3. Texas A&M
4. Rice
5. North Texas
6. UTRGV
7. Incarnate Word
8. UT-Arlington
9. Lamar
10. McNeese State
11. Houston
12. Central Arkansas
13. Stephen F. Austin
14. LSU
15. Texas State

2019 SEC Cross Country Coaches Preseason Poll (points)