NEW ORLEANS -- On Tuesday the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association released its final regular season Top 30 Poll and the Arkansas women’s cross country team remained at No. 5 after a second-place finish at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational last Friday in Madison, Wis.
For the second straight USTFCCCA poll the Razorbacks checked in at No. 5, as they collected 311 points. Arkansas made their season debut in poll’s fifth slot in the Week Four Poll after winning the Chile Pepper Festival in dominating fashion back on Oct. 4.
This week’s USTFCCAA Top 30 Poll featured a new No. 1 team, as Michigan State, who won the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, moved up one spot after previous No. 1-ranked Michigan fell to No. 4 after its third-place finish at the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. This week’s poll also featured a new No. 2 and No. 3, as Georgetown moved up on slot to second after winning the NCAA Pre-Nats and Oregon, who earned a second-place finish in Terre Haute, checked in at No. 3.
Head coach Lance Harter’s squad collected a second-place finish at last Friday’s Wisconsin adidas Invitational, as his team had two runners place inside the top 10 to help his team score 191 points against a field that featured 20 ranked NCAA Division I teams and several NCAA All-Americans from a year ago.
All-American Dominique Scott posted the highest finish of any Arkansas runner at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational by placing eighth with a 6K time of 19:54.00. It was a strong performance for the South African, as she improved on her 13th-place finish in last year’s Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
Her performance at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational earned the redshirt junior her third Southeastern Conference Runner of the Week Award this season and the fourth of her career.
NCAA All-Region runner Grace Heymsfield rounded out the top 10 with her time of 19:56.00. The time was a personal-best for redshirt senior, surpassing her previous best 6K time of 20:11.77 ran at last year’s SEC Championships.
Both runners were also featured in the FloTrack.com Top 25 Individual Rankings on Monday, as Scott checked in at No. 9 and Heymsfield placed at No. 17 in this week’s Top 25. As a team, the Razorbacks moved back one spot to No. 5 in this week’s FloTrack.com Top 25.
Arkansas will be back in action on Oct. 31, as they will look to capture their second straight SEC Cross Country Title when they go to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the SEC Championships.
For more information on Arkansas women’s cross country, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.