FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas is predicted to place third in the SEC this cross country season by the league’s coaches and the Razorbacks are ranked No. 13 in the USTFCCCA preseason national poll.
Arkansas placed second in the conference meet a year ago and finished ninth at the NCAA Championships.
Defending national champion NC State shares the top national ranking heading into the 2024 season with Northern Arizona, the NCAA runner-up a year ago. The rest of the top 10 includes Oregon, Washington, BYU, Stanford, Florida, Providence, and Tennessee.
A total of five SEC schools are among the top 30 preseason poll. The additional teams include No. 12 Alabama, No. 13 Arkansas, and No. 27 Ole Miss.
Razorback Sydney Thorvaldson earned All-America honors in cross country during her sophomore season in placing 11th to lead the Arkansas squad. In the conference meet, freshman Paityn Noe and Thorvaldson finished fifth and sixth to lead the Razorbacks.
In a close vote among league coaches for the SEC preseason poll, Florida had the edge over Alabama with the Gators receiving nine first-place votes and the Tide picking up seven.
Arkansas is tabbed for third place in the SEC Championships ahead of Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU and Texas.
Having claimed 22 SEC cross country team titles since joining the league in 1991, Arkansas has been runner-up nine times and has only finished third on two occasions (2003, 2009).
In addition to nine returning Razorbacks on the squad this season, Arkansas also has nine newcomers.
