SEC Championships next challenge for Razorbacks

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Arkansas competes in the SEC Championships on Friday, racing over a 6,000m distance on Texas A&M’s Watts course. Coverage of the meet will be available on the SEC Network with the women’s race beginning at 9:05 a.m.

Live results from the SEC meet are available here: https://flashresults.com/2025_Meets/xc/SEC/index.htm.

“I’m excited about starting the championship part of the season,” said Arkansas volunteer coach Lance Harter. “On the women’s side everyone has distance runners now, and a lot of teams have gone the route of bringing in some very experienced international athletes vying for those top places.

“We were picked for fourth in the conference by the coaches earlier in the season. We’ll see if we can improve on that.”

Since joining the league for the 1991 SEC Championships, the Razorbacks have claimed 22 titles, finished runner-up nine times, and placed third on two occasions (2003, 2009).

Nationally ranked women’s programs within the SEC include No. 7 Alabama, No. 14 Florida, and No. 28 Texas. Receiving votes for the national top 30 poll include Tennessee and Arkansas.

“Are we going to vie for the team title.” stated Harter. “On any given day, anything can happen. But as far as what we need to take care of is to try to stay in that top three and ultimately prepare ourselves for the regional meet, because this year it’s not a gimme to qualify for nationals. We’re going to have to really work for it.”

Starting off with a pre-season national ranking of 13th, the Razorbacks dropped to No. 28 and then to No. 29 in consecutive weeks after placing third at the Chile Pepper Festival behind Texas and LSU. Then Arkansas fell out of the top 30 when they finished 23rd at the Pre-National Invitational in Wisconsin.

While the combination of Paityn Noe and Mia Cochran has led the Razorbacks this season, the SEC Championships will mark the first race of the season for Sydney Thorvaldson.

“For the SEC meet this will be the first time we have Sydney Thorvaldson back in the line-up,” noted Harter. “She’s an All-American in cross country who placed 11th in the nation last year. This fall she was delayed a little bit due to a foot issue that she developed during the summer.

“It’s going to be exciting to have her back in the line-up. We took our lumps periodically during the course of the year, because I don’t think anyone can function at this level, in the SEC or NCAA, without having your weapons on board. So, we’re excited about being a full strength to complement Paityn Noe and Mia Cochran, because we have a very competitive top three.”

As a freshman, Noe led Arkansas in the 2023 SEC meet with a fifth-place finish. Thorvaldson followed in sixth place after finishing 11th in 2022. Cochran placed 12th in 2022 and 16th a year ago.

Other Razorbacks with SEC Championship experience in cross country include Tiana LoStracco, who finished 47th in 2023, and Mackenzie Rogers, 90th in 2022 and 73rd in 2023.

Arkansas runners making their SEC Championship debut in cross country include Olivia Pielemeier, Ruby Little, Morgan Kirkland, and Chachi Gonzales.

“We have a battle for our fourth and fifth runners,” added Harter. “In cross country, you’re only as good as your fifth runner. We have some people that are fighting for those spots with Olivia Pielemeier, Mackenzie Rogers, and Tiana LoStracco. We also have a couple of freshmen who are trying to break into that line-up as well.”

Razorbacks | Previous SEC Finish

SEC Schools | Regional Rankings
Midwest | 5) Oklahoma, 9) Missouri
South | 1) Alabama, 3) Florida, 5) Tennessee, 6) Ole Miss, 8) Vanderbilt, 9) Auburn, 11) Mississippi State
South Central | 1) Texas, 2) LSU, 3) Arkansas, 7) Texas A&M
Southeast | 10) Kentucky