NEW ORLEANS -- On Monday, the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association announced its Week Six Regional Poll, and the Arkansas women’s cross country team preserved its No. 1 ranking in the South Central Region after winning its second straight Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships last Friday.
This week’s ranking marks the 24th straight poll that Arkansas has sit atop the South Central Region and will make the Razorbacks the region’s top team going into the NCAA South Central Regional, which will be held on Nov. 14 at Agri Park.
Arkansas maintained its No. 1 ranking in the South Central after claiming its second straight SEC Cross Country Championship crown last Friday. The Razorbacks left no doubt who the supreme team was in the SEC, as they had a pair of runners claim first and second place in the race, and had all five of their scoring rotation finish inside the top 12. As a team, the Razorbacks collected 32 points, which was 53 points ahead of second place Vanderbilt.
Redshirt junior Dominique Scott captured her second straight SEC Cross Country Individual Championship to lead Arkansas to the championship. Scott completed the 6K course in a personal-record time of 19:22.74, it was the second-fastest recorded time at the SEC Championships and gave the South African native her fourth individual title of the year.
Redshirt senior Grace Heymsfield concluded her final SEC Championship with a second-place finish and a personal-record 6K time of 19:32.21. The Elkins, Ark., native displayed incredible closing speed, as she chased down and pass Tennessee’s Chelsea Blaase over the final 50 meters of the race to give the Hogs a 1-2 finish.
Baylor checked in at No. 2 in the South Central Poll for the fourth straight week after placing third at the Big 12 Championships, while Lamar’s team victory at the Southland Conference Championships kept them at No. 3 in this week’s poll. Rice jumped up one spot to No. 4 after their Conference USA runner-up finish and SMU rounded out this week’s top five, dropping one spot after a third-place finish at the American Athletic Conference Championships.
Arkansas returns to action on Nov. 14, when they host the NCAA South Central Regional. The Razorbacks will be attempting to win their fourth straight NCAA Regional crown, as they look to get an automatic team bid to the NCAA National Championships. Race time from Agri Park is slated for 12 p.m.
For more information on the Arkansas women’s cross country team, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.