Pre-Nationals Notes | Live Results | Live Stream (Subscription Required)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The fifth-ranked Arkansas men’s cross country team travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, this weekend for its final meet of the regular season, Pre-Nationals at the LaVern Gibson cross country course.
The Razorbacks are one of eight nationally-ranked programs in the field and will be joined in competition by No. 4 Oregon, No. 6 Colorado, No. 7 Portland, No. 12 University of Texas at El Paso, No. 13 Indiana, No. 15 Eastern Kentucky and No. 20 Michigan.
In addition to the stout ranked foes, Arkansas will line up against fellow Southeastern Conference programs Florida and Missouri, gaining insight on what to expect out of both programs prior to the league’s championship on Friday, Oct. 28 in Fayetteville.
“We learned an important lesson last year that previewing the national course proved to be beneficial, so that’s exactly what we’re doing this year,” head coach Chris Bucknam said. “We’re there for two reasons: To preview the course and sharpen our competitive edge. The Pre-National meet serves as a practice exam. The questions might not be the same, but [come next time] you’re going to enter with the same frame of mind, prepared for the type of questions that will be asked because of the learned rhythm. Our guys are emotionally fit and they are doing the right things to get themselves ready for this competition. They are a fun group to work with, they’ve got high standards and they’ve been living up to them.”
Intercontinental Top Five
Last weekend at the Chile Pepper Festival, the Razorbacks captured the D-I team title led by an international top five which boasted runners from Australia, Europe, Africa and North America.
Four upperclassmen, including Alex George (Great Britain), Frankline Tonui (Kenya), Jack Bruce (Australia) and Austen Dalquist (USA), led the way for Arkansas each posting sub-24-minute performances during the 8K course in the Razorbacks’ rout of the field.
Sophomore Cameron Griffith (Australia) was the fifth Razorback to complete the race, running a new PR of 24 minutes, 6.82 seconds to solidify the team’s victory.
With all five dynamic talents entered in the Blue seeded race at Pre-Nationals, Arkansas will look to leave a lasting impression as the hunt for the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship heats up.
More to Come
2015 SEC runner-up Christian Heymsfield and NJCAA All-American Andrew Ronoh have yet to compete this season with Ronoh possibly making an appearance this weekend.
“Ronoh is a game-day decision,” Bucknam said. “He is making great progress and moving right along but we want to make sure he’s near top form before we put him through a rigorous test like Pre-Nationals.”
Both Heymsfield and Ronoh hope to play a major role during the championship season and contribute to several podium-topping team performances for the Razorbacks.
Pre-Nationals
Seven Razorbacks will contest the blue 8K race at 10:35 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 15. Arkansas will also have runners competing in the 8K open at 1:05 p.m.
Live results will be available for the meet through Record Timing. A live stream will also be available to viewers from home who subscribe to FloPro.
Fans are encouraged to engage in the event on social media using the hash tag #PreNats.
2016 Cross Country Schedule
Thurs, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Duals (Stillwater, Okla.) | 4th of 6
Fri, Sept. 16 – Battle in Beantown (Boston, Mass.) | 3rd of 15
Sat, Oct. 1 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) | 1st of 18
Sat, Oct. 15 – Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.) 10:35 a.m.
Fri, Oct. 28 – SEC Championship (Agri Park) 10:00 a.m.
Fri, Nov. 11 – NCAA South Central Regional (Agri Park) 11:00 a.m.
Sat, Nov. 19 – NCAA Championship (Terre Haute, Ind.) 11:00 a.m.
Bold denotes a home event.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.