Razorbacks to Face Stiff Competition at NCAA National Championships
Senior Cameron Efurd runs in the NCAA regional at Agri Park in Fayetteville. The men’s and Women’s teams both qualified for the NCAA championships. (Photo courtesy of Athletic Media Relations)
The Arkansas women’s and men’s cross country teams earned spots in the National Championship field after finishing first and second, respectively, in the South Central Regional Championships.
Thirty other teams made Nationals along with the Hogs, and Arkansas may not be the favorites to win, but they will be in contention.
The Men’s team goes in to Nationals ranked No. 19 in the country and are one of only two SEC teams in the race, the other being Georgia.
The top ranked men’s team is the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but the Midwest Regional proved difficult for the Cowboys.
They tied with No. 8 Oklahoma for first, and just edged out No. 19 Tulsa for the automatic qualifying spot by two points.
Colorado is ranked No. 2 in the country and they had an even more difficult time qualifying.
The Buffs finished third in their Regional behind No. 18 Northern Arizona and No. 7 Brigham Young University.
The Hogs will also have to top No. 5 Texas who just beat them in the Regional Championship and other strong groups like Stanford, Iona and Wisconsin, who are all ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
The women’s team comes in No. 12 in the country, but has more momentum after its Regional victory.
They will face more SEC competition than the mens team, as Georgia, Florida and Vanderbilt all qualified.
The women’s side of the Cross Country regionals was also filled with drama, as top-10 teams Cornell and Arizona failed to automatically qualify and had to rely on an at-large selection to get into the meet.
The three favorites to win the championship will be the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles, the Iowa State Cyclones and the Oregon Ducks.
All three have received first-place votes in the coaches poll and all three also secured automatic qualifying in their respective Regionals.
