Isabel van Camp leads No. 9 Arkansas to 9th in Jamboree

STILLWATER, Okla. – No. 9 Arkansas finished ninth in the Oklahoma State Jamboree on Saturday morning with a team score of 232 points. The Razorbacks, one of 13 nationally ranked teams in the meet, were led by Isabel van Camp, who finished 10^th among the elite field of 223 runners.

“It was a good experience, for sure,” said van Camp. “It’s good to get back into the racing mindset. It was fun to also get out and compete with the team. Coming together to compete for a common goal is a really cool feeling,

“It’s definitely a challenging course, and I think it helps to keep you mentally engaged. Those hills are tough, but they keep you engaged. The downhill portion to finish the race hurts, but you get that feeling of ‘oh my gosh’, it’s there.”

Oklahoma State, ranked equal No. 3 nationally, claimed the team title with 70 points, finishing ahead of No. 22 Northern Arizona (88), No. 7 BYU (113), equal No. 3 Colorado (159), and No. 5 Stanford (174).

The next group of five schools in team scoring included Syracuse (178), No. 27 Utah State (206), No. 6 Washington (223), No. 9 Arkansas (232), and No. 12 Michigan (235).

“In our situation, we start the race without one of our primary runners,” noted Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter. “That, obviously, has a big effect on team totals. We also had some people who ran for the first time this season. This is a heck of a place to open up at because it’s so demanding.”

A 1-2 finish for Oklahoma State had Natalie Cook winning the race in 20:17.1 over Taylor Roe, runner-up in 20:20.8, while Utah Valley’s Everlyn Kemboi finished third in 20:22.2.

Covering the 6,000m course in a time of 20:37.4 placed van Camp 10th with Kentucky’s Perri Bockrath finishing eighth in 20:33.6. Kentucky's Tori Herman, 21st in 20:49.7, and Razorback Mia Cochran, placing 24th in 20:54.5, were the next pair of SEC runners.

“We’re really pleased with Isabel’s finish,” stated Harter. “Mia Cochran for a first race in her freshman year, I thought, ran absolutely fantastic. Sydney, coming off mono and trying to put some things together, did a great job.

“This was Isabel’s first race and she’s just getting things started while in a heavy training block. To finish in the top 10 here individually on this monster course is a real positive for things yet to happen.”

SEC schools in the meet included Kentucky, who finished 11th in team scoring with 259 points, while Ole Miss totaled 314 in finishing 13th.

Third among the Arkansas crew was Sydney Thorvaldson with a 21:13.8 to place 44th. Gracie Hyde claimed the fourth position for the Razorbacks, finishing in 21:39.1 for 80th. Taylor Ewert completed the Arkansas team score, finishing 93rd in 21:46.0.

The team scoring places for the Razorbacks went 10-23-43-70-78.

“So, we had some nice highlights, which included Gracie Hyde and Nyah Hernandez, who had solid races today,” added Harter. “I think we’re on a proper path of where we want to be for conference and nationals.

“We need to have everybody healthy and together on a given day. We have the personnel, now we just need to line up and take advantage of the opportunities in front of us.”

Nyah Hernandez led the next group of Arkansas runners, covering the course in 21:56.0 (102nd), followed by Adoette Vaughan in 22:05.9 (109th), Mary Ellen Eudaly with a 22:08.5 (113th), Heidi Nielson at 22:10.9 (115th), and Mackenzie Rogers with a 22:39.1 (144th).

The Razorbacks were missing Katie McCune, who was held out of the race, while her sister, Claire, competed unattached and finished 96th with a time of 21:50.0.

Next week Arkansas will race at home in the Chile Pepper Festival with collegiate races held on Friday, September 30.

Team Scores: