NEW ORLEANS -- On Tuesday the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association released final regular season Top 30 Poll and the Arkansas men’s cross country team dropped to No. 23 after a 16th-place finish at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational last Friday.
Despite a decent showing amongst the nation’s best in Madison, Wis., Arkansas was only able to earn 88 points in this week’s poll, dropping them six spots to No. 23 in the USTFCCCA Top 30. The Razorbacks defeated four of the 19 ranked teams in attendance at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational last Friday to pick up 416 points and a 16th-place finish.
All-American Stanley Kebenei collected his third top 10 finish of the year at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, as he placed sixth overall with an 8K time of 23:55.00. It was a huge improvement for Kebenei from last year’s race, as he finished 23rd at the 2013 Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
Kebenei’s performance over the weekend earned him his second Southeastern Conference Runner of the Week honor, and placed him at No. 17 in this week’s FloTrack.com Top 25 Individual Rankings. As a team, head coach Chris Bucknam’s team also checked in at No. 23 in FloTrack.com’s Top 25.
Freshman Alex George, turned in another solid race for Arkansas, as he ran a personal-best time of 24:25.00 to place 57th in the 254-runner event. It was the third straight race that George had set a personal-best time in the 8K this season and helped him earn his third SEC Freshman Runner of the Week honor this year.
Defending NCAA Champion Colorado stayed atop the USTFFCCCA Poll for the sixth straight poll as they won the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. No. 2 Oregon remained in-check after finishing behind the Buffalos at Pre-Nats. Syracuse jumped up three sports to No. 3 after winning the Wisconsin adiads Invitational, while Oklahoma State’s No. 4 ranking remained intact after winning the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational. Iona moved up nine spots to No. 5 after a second-place finish at the Wisconsin adidas Invite.
The Razorbacks will now move into the championship portion of its schedule as they will participate in the 2014 SEC Championship on Oct. 31. Race time is slated for 10 a.m., as Arkansas will be seeking its third straight SEC Cross Country title.
For more information on the Arkansas men’s cross country team, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.