FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The No. 7-ranked Arkansas women’s cross country team hits the West Coast this weekend to compete in the adidas/UCI Invitational in Irvine, Calif. The race will begin on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. CST at the UC-Irvine Anteater Recreation Center Fields.
After holding out its top runners last week, Arkansas is set to run full force on Saturday morning as 2013 All-American Dominique Scott and 2013 NCAA All-Region runners Grace Heysmfield, Shannon Klenke and Diane Robison are slated to make their 2014 debuts.
The Razorbacks are one of 18 schools to compete at UC-Irvine this weekend, as there are a total of 191 runners expected to run on the 5,000-meter course.
Last weekend, Arkansas tested its depth at the Hurricane Cross Country Festival as they ran three athletes who had previously competed in a combined eight meets in their career and four runners who were making their Razorback debut.
It was a positive result for head coach Lance Harter’s squad, as three of his runners collected a top 10 finish. Sophomore Regan Ward came away with her first-ever individual title, as she won the two-mile race with a time of 11:13. Redshirt sophomore Valerie Reina timed in just a second behind Ward to finish third and redshirt freshman Chandler Crumblish collected a ninth-place finish in her collegiate debut with a time of 11:23.
Arkansas Runners Excepted to Compete
Sr. Shannon Klenke, 5K Best: 17:10.30, Oct. 5, 2013 (Chile Pepper Festival), 2014 Debut
R- Sr. Grace Heymsfield, 5K Best: 16:55.80, Oct. 5, 2013 (Chile Pepper Festival), 2014 Debut
Jr. Aubree Worden, First 5K Race at Arkansas (22nd at Hurricane XC Festival)
R-Jr. Diane Robison, 5K Best: 17:23.50, Sept. 8, 2012 (adidas/UCI Invitational), 2014 Debut
R-Jr. Dominique Scott, 5K Best: 17:00.80, Oct. 5, 2013 (Chile Pepper Festival, 2014 Debut
So. Logan Bishop (Arkansas Debut Race)
So. Regan Ward, 5K Best: 17:51.50, Oct. 5, 2013 (Chile Pepper Festival), (1st at Hurricane XC Festival)
R-So. Samantha Mohler, 5K Best: 18:47.60, Oct. 5, 2013 (Chile Pepper Festival) (11th at Hurricane XC Festival)
R-So. Valerie Reina, 5K Best: 18:00.23, Sept. 23, 2012 (Southern Stampede), (Finished 3rd at Hurricane XC Festival)
Fr. Kelsey Schrader, First 5K Race at Arkansas (Finished 14th at Hurricane XC Festival)
R-Fr. Chandler Crumblish, First 5K Race at Arkansas (Finished 9th at Hurricane XC Festival)
For more information on the Arkansas women’s cross country teams follow @RazorbackWCC on Twitter.