Arkansas teams sweep SEC Cross Country Championships
Full Results
Men's Results (PDF)
Women's Results (PDF)
ATHENS, Ga. - The Arkansas men's and women's cross country teams swept Southeastern Conference titles for the 17th time in program history Friday morning in Athens, Georgia.
Alabama junior Vincent Kiprop led from wire-to-wire en route to claiming the individual men's title.
Missouri's Karissa Schweizer won her second straight SEC individual women's title, finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up. She is the first individual in Mizzou history and the sixth in SEC history to repeat as cross country champion.
The Arkansas women's cross country team placed four in the top ten to extend its Southeastern Conference championship streak to five.
The Razorbacks have now won 18 cross country conference championships, more than the 13 other conference teams combined. Dating back to 2014, Arkansas has won 11-consecutive conference titles including indoor and outdoor track and field.
Sophomore Taylor Werner paced Arkansas and set a personal record while finishing second overall with a time of 20:07.10. Her second place finish marked the fifth consecutive year the Razorbacks have had a top-two finisher at the SEC championships.
"We went out and raced with heart and passion for each other," Werner said. "It was amazing to turn around at the end and see a group of white jerseys all finish so close together."
Carina Viljoen, Therese Haiss, and Lauren Gregory finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively to round out Arkansas' top-10 performers. It was the first time since 2007 that Arkansas placed four runners in the top 10. Since 1991, the Razorbacks have finished with four or more runners in the top 10 seven times.
Gregory continues her impressive freshman campaign with her eighth-place finish as the top-overall freshman at the SEC championships. Since her debut at the Riverside Invitational (Sept. 16), the Fort Collins, Colorado native has three SEC Freshman of the Week honors while finishing as the top overall freshman in two of her four races this season.
Senior Nikki Hiltz rounded out Arkansas' scoring with a 12th-place finish and a time of 20:49.50. With all five scorers finishing in the top-12, Arkansas scored a total of 35 points, its lowest since 2014 when it scored 32.
In the men's race, senior Alex George led the Razorbacks' charge finishing fourth overall with a time of 23:34.30. Jack Bruce and Cameron Griffeth finished sixth and seventh overall to round out the Razorbacks in the top-10. In his first race of the season Freshman Matt Young finished 11th while Austen Dalquist placed 13th to round out the Razorbacks scoring.
Arkansas defended their conference crown, winning by a 40-point margin over runner-up Alabama.
"I feel real happy for our guys," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "They did just such a phenomenal job. To see them gel today and have confidence in their abilities, I'm just so proud of them."
Cross Country Conference Dominance
Prior to Arkansas' arrival in the SEC the Razorbacks gained national repute as members of the Southwestern Conference, amassing 25 league titles in record time under the guidance of John McDonnell. The Razorbacks tradition of excellence continued through the conference transition with their aforementioned 2017 title marking the 50th cross country league victory in program history.
Complete Team Effort
Head coach Chris Bucknam said ahead of the meet that his team's main objective was to win and that it would require all hands on deck to do so. Racing on the most physically challenging course of the season, Bucknam's squad rallied to rise to task.
A one-hour highlight show of the championship will air Sunday, Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
All-SEC Cross Country Teams
Men's First Team
Vincent Kiprop, Alabama
Gilbert Kigen, Alabama
Alfred Chelanga, Alabama
Alex George, Arkansas
Jacob Thomson, Kentucky
Jack Bruce, Arkansas
Cameron Griffith, Arkansas
Men's Second Team
Sean Tobin, Ole Miss
Christian Farris, Texas A&M
Zach Long, Tennessee
Matt Young, Arkansas
Bryan Kamau, Georgia
Austen Dalquist, Arkansas
Derek Gutierrez, Ole Miss
Men's All-Freshman Team
Matt Young, Arkansas
Parker Scott, Ole Miss
Waleed Suliman, Ole Miss
John Elrod, Tennessee
Alex Crigger, Tennessee
Eric Coston, LSU
Marshall Dillon, Florida
Women's First Team
Karissa Schweizer, Missouri
Taylor Werner, Arkansas
Katy Kunc, Kentucky
Jessica Drop, Georgia
Samantha Drop, Georgia
Carina Viljoen, Arkansas
Therese Haiss, Arkansas
Women's Second Team
Lauren Gregory, Arkansas
Shannon Fair, Mississippi State
Kelsie Warren, Texas A&M
Lisa Oed, Mississippi State
Nikki Hiltz, Arkansas
Ashton Endsley, Arkansas
Mckenzie Yanek, Alabama
Women's All-Freshman Team
Lauren Gregory, Arkansas
Lisa Oed, Mississippi State
Ashton Endsley, Arkansas
Clio Ozanne-Jaques, Ole Miss
Niamh Schumacher, Tennessee
Joyce Kimeli, Auburn
Faith Bett, Auburn