Top Ranked Arkansas Seeks To Reclaim SEC Title

Sporting a No. 1 national ranking, the Razorbacks head into the SEC Championships favored to unseat two-time defending champion Mississippi for this year’s conference cross country team title.

The 8,000m race for the men will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La.

Live coverage of the meet will be available on the SEC Network while live results will be available at PrimeTime Timing (https://live.pttiming.com/XC-PTT.html?mid=2064).

Arkansas has a potent line-up as seven Razorbacks have finished among its top five in the pair of meets they have contested this season. In each meet Arkansas claimed a team victory with Ole Miss finishing as the runner-up.

“There are a lot of interchangeable parts among our group and that’s a sign of a good team,” noted Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “Within our top five or seven, they each feel like they have a shot to be our number one guy. The team goal is obviously to have everyone run well at the same time and win the meet.”

Included in that group of Razorbacks are Gilbert Boit, the 2018 SEC champion; Amon Kemboi, a three-time All-American in cross country who placed among the top 10 in the NCAA Championships the past two years; Emmanuel Cheboson, the 2020 SEC Indoor champion at 5,000m; and Andrew Kibet, an NJCAA champion in 2018.

Also factoring in the Hogs top five this season have been Jacob McLeod, Luke Meade and Matt Young.

“This a great team and we work together up front trying to get our top five among the top 10,” said Boit. “Now having Amon back racing everyone is on board as we head into the SEC Championships. He is a great addition to the team.”

A team title for the Razorbacks would be number 26 in SEC cross country among the 30 contested since Arkansas joined the league for the 1991 SEC Championships. Currently, the Razorbacks are tied with Tennessee with the most conference titles in cross country at 25. The Volunteers’ last title came in 1990.

“You want to run good for your alums and continue that legacy,” said Bucknam. “Obviously, with all the wins Arkansas has had in the past it would be fun to get over that barrier. For sure it gives you an idea of how good Arkansas has been over the years and more recently. Hopefully, we can continue that trend.”

A dynamic Razorback squad developed this season from a mixture of transfers along with a crew of five returning Razorbacks who were part of Arkansas’ top seven in the 2019 SEC Championships.

“When you remake the team, like we did, you always worry about the chemistry a little bit,” stated Bucknam. “Will the new guys fit into the culture of running here at Arkansas. If you cross that bridge and you have success there, I think good things will happen.

“We have done that. These new guys have blended in well and accepted their new roles at a new school. We’ve already had a strong culture of competitors that we’ve had in the past and they have fit in and added to it. Extremely excited about the progress our team has made in that regard.”

McLeod, who transferred to Arkansas from Belmont, added: “This is going to be so much bigger than my conference experiences in the past. It’s a whole different level, really. I’m really grateful, and I really feel bad for some of the other schools who haven’t been able to compete this fall. It just shows how good we have it in the SEC that we get the opportunity to compete.”

The Razorbacks previously raced on the SEC Championship course back in September amid a four-team field at the SEC Preview. Arkansas’ top seven finished among the top 12. They repeated that feat amid a field of nine teams during the UAB Blazer Classic when Kemboi and Ryan Murphy were added to the line-up.

“We were able to see the course at LSU in our first meet of the season, so when we fly back down there this week our guys know what to expect,” said Bucknam. “At the end of the day it’s about taking care of our business and making sure we’re on point with what we want to accomplish. We’ll be ready to go when the gun goes off.

“We had a solid performance in Birmingham. We had a couple of runners out there we haven’t had in a while. It was good to see Ryan Murphy running again in addition to Amon Kemboi. We added two good men to a team that was already pretty good. So, now we move forward to the championship season.”

Comments from Coach Chris Bucknam, Coach Lance Harter, Lauren Gregory and Jacob McLeod