SEC Championship battle offers test for Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas competes at the SEC Cross Country Championships with Tennessee serving as host on Friday, Oct. 31, over a 6,000m race on the Cherokee Farm course.
Coverage of the meet will air live on SEC Network at 9 a.m. (CT) with the women’s race starting at 9:53 a.m. (CT). Live results are available at this link.
“It’s an incredibly deep field on the women’s side, deeper than it’s ever been,” said Razorbacks women’s cross country coach Marc Burns. “I think we’re seeing the result of the first year after the House settlement and maybe some increased funding on the women’s side, maybe even more so than the men, certainly with 17 roster spots on the women’s side.
“We’ve seen teams like LSU and South Carolina, teams that have always been one or two people away from being really good. All of sudden now they have the spots and funding to get those kids. Now they’re in the mix.”
Between two national polls, seven SEC schools are among the top 32 teams ranked heading into the conference weekend. Florida leads the field at No.3 in the USTFCCCA and FloTrack polls.
Additional programs in the USTFCCCA national poll include =No. 20 South Carolina, No. 23 Missouri, No. 25 Alabama, No. 27 Tennessee while LSU and Arkansas are receiving votes.
The FloTrack rankings include No. 7 Alabama, No. 21 South Carolina, No. 22 Missouri, No. 23 LSU, and No. 31 Tennessee.
“They’re six teams ranked ahead of us in the national poll,” noted Burns. “On a good day we can beat some of those teams. I’m confident of that. I think with our front three they will open things up for us to have a chance to beat those teams. Then it just depends on what we do on the back end of our line-up with 4-5-6-7 spots.
“We could be third or fourth or we could be seven, eight, or nine. That’s pretty scary to go into a championship at Arkansas in that situation. I hope this is the only year in my tenure at Arkansas that we ever have this conversation. But it’s where we’re at right now and we’re going to have to be ready to battle. Our kids will be ready to do that and fight hard in the second half of the race.”
Arkansas has won a conference record 22 SEC cross country titles, claiming nine consecutive league championships from 2013 to 2021. The Razorbacks have been runner-up nine times and placed third twice since joining the league in 1991.
Finishing fourth in 2024 was the lowest ever finish for Arkansas at the SEC Cross Country Championships after placing second in 2022 and 2023.
Paityn Noe, who hasn’t competed for the Razorbacks this season while recovering from an injury, placed third in the 2024 SEC race while Sydney Thorvaldson finished 10th. Olivia Pielemeier was the fourth Arkansas finisher a year ago in placing 51st.
In the 2023 SEC Championships, Noe and Thorvaldson finished fifth and sixth. Thorvaldson also placed 11th as a freshman in 2022.
Josphine Mwaura has previous conference experience in the Big 12 competing for Oklahoma State and Kansas State. She placed 14th in 2024 as the leading finisher for OSU’s fourth place team. As a freshman in 2023, Mwaura placed 38th as the second KSU runner on a fifth place squad.
The Razorbacks get Bradley Weimer back in action as she races for the first time since a meet at Missouri in late August. Also scheduled to compete for Arkansas in the SEC meet are Madeleine Gear, Sanu Jallow-Lockhart, and Sorcha Shiu.
“We’re really counting on our front three to do the job upfront,” stated Burns. “Sydney will be a factor up front in the top five, Josphine is a top 10 to 15 type of runner, and Olivia will be really close behind her.
“We get Bradley Weimer back this week. She will give us more depth at 4-5-6-7 slots and help that group continue to push their way through the pack. A fifth runner who is maybe 75th place if they run five seconds faster then they’re probably in 55th place. They can swing the team scoring in a huge way.”
National Rankings | USTFCCCA
- Florida
=20. South Carolina
- Missouri
- Alabama
- Tennessee
Receiving votes: LSU, Arkansas
National Rankings | FloTrack
- Florida
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Missouri
- LSU
- Tennessee
