Sydney Vaught NCAA 13th, earns All-America honor

COLUMBIA – Razorback senior Sydney Vaught finished 13th in the NCAA Championship race on Saturday to earn her second All-America honor in cross country and third overall. Vaught covered the 6,000m course in a stellar time of 18 minutes, 59.6 seconds.

Finishing as the fourth American in the women’s field, Vaught produced an impressive performance as she placed fourth among SEC runners in the field after finishing 11th in the conference meet at the end of October.

Vaught’s previous best over a 6k distance was 19:33.8 from the 2023 national championship race when she placed 11th. The bib number Vaught wore in the 2025 race was 113, which represented her best pair of finishes of 11th and 13th in NCAA cross country races.

Alabama’s Doris Lemngole won the individual title in 18:25.4 while Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi placed third in 18:46.4 and Alabama’s Caren Kiplagat finished 11th in 18:58.8.

North Carolina State claimed the team title with 114 points while defending champion BYU, led by individual runner-up in freshman Jane Hedengren (18:38.9), finished second with 130 points. Oregon placed third with a 153 tally.

SEC schools in the meet included Florida (5th – 225), South Carolina (16th – 456), Alabama (16th – 460), LSU (23rd – 530), Missouri (28th – 632), Tennessee (30th – 650), and Texas A&M (31st – 654).