Arkansas Finishes Ninth at NCAAs

November 21, 2015

NCAA Cross Country Championships W Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Arkansas women’s cross country raced to a ninth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Razorbacks were led by Dominique Scott who capped her phenomenal career placing third overall to become a three-time All-American.

This is the second-consecutive season the Razorbacks have finished among the 10 best programs in the nation within cross country.

In windy conditions, Scott was off to a fast start, immediately finding a place with the lead group. The front pack’s quick tempo was set by 2015 NCAA outdoor 10K champion, Molly Seidel of Notre Dame. Along with Siedel and Scott, Boise State’s Allie Ostrander made her way to the front of the race and the three began to distance themselves from competition. In the final 1,000 meters Scott dug deep and kicked to finish line to place third and help secure the Razorbacks a spot in the top-10.

It took the effort of the entire team to pull off the successful performance. Arkansas’ top five was rounded out by Devin Clark (48th), Regan Ward (103rd), Kelsey Schrader (111th) and Kaitlin Flattmann (127th). One of the best freshman in the field, Clark missed out on All-America honors by a mere eight spots.

Redshirt freshman Sydney Brown was the sixth finisher for Arkansas placing 178th in 21:22.40 while Valerie Reina completed the team as the seventh finisher placing 217th in 21:54.80.

The young group closed out the year with a finish to be proud of. SEC and Regional champions, Arkansas capped the 2015 cross country chapter as the ninth best team in the country.

Lance Harter
Overall I’m very proud of our top-10 finish. I think that there were some things we could have corrected, some simple changes. The way the course is designed and the way our team, excluding Dominique, has a tendency to be a little bit cautious early in races and then work their way up, unfortunately we were a little too cautious and we spotted a lot of our key competition a little bit too much of a head start. Devin Clark had a spectacular race as a freshman, to be right on the fringe of being an All-American, very few freshman have that honor. Kelsey [Schrader] ran really well and Regan Ward wrapped up with Kaitlin Flattmann. Our other freshman, Sydney Brown got the chance to experience what this place [nationals] is all about and if there is an omen in this race, she only ran a couple places behind what Dom ran as a freshman as well. Dominique is a very special lady. To be in the conversation, always as a contender is justified by how well she’s done. She ran a very fine race but they made one more move than she could cover. It was a three horse race right from the get-go and we ended up third and our whole goal at the start of the season was to get better than last year’s finish and last year she was sixth and then she came in third. So she went from 141st to 28th to sixth to third that’s a spectacular career. We have a very fine future. We left a couple of freshman at home that could’ve contributed to today’s scoring. I think that our freshman class is probably as good as anybody in the United States except for Stanford so we’re really excited about our future. Next year we’re going to be laden with freshman and sophomores and then the year after that watch out.

Dominique Scott
I’m really content and happy with being the third fastest collegiate runner in the nation today. Coming in third is just amazing. Anything bettering myself from last year’s sixth place to this year’s third place, I’m really happy. I’m a little bit disappointed for the team that we couldn’t be on the podium. I did think that today we had a good chance of being top four. But at the beginning of the year at our cross country camp back in August we said that top-10 would be amazing for this young team and we did that we came ninth. I don’t think that we can be too disappointed. I know everyone believed in us and hoped that we would be on the podium but ultimately to be a top-10 team in the nation is really cool especially for such a young team. I know that next year even without me and Kaitlin Flattmann the girls are going to do just great. I was 141st my freshman year and Devin [Clark] came in 48th her freshman year. This girl has so much talent, she’s going to be the next great thing for Arkansas running. I’m so excited to see how she progresses and how Coach Harter uses her for the team over the next four years. Forty-eighth as a freshman is incredible, there’s no doubt in my mind that next year she will be an All-American. The rest of the girls all ran so hard. Everyone ran with a lot of heart this week, there’s a lot of love and a lot of caring with this group and everyone was out there running for each other. I was happy with my third place finish. I love being a part of the Razorback cross country team, in track it’s little bit more individualized. With cross country this year especially, there has been such a cool bond between all the girls. What an incredible five years. I’m just so blessed to have been on this team. I’ll forever be a Razorback at heart. I’m grateful to the girls for allowing me to lead them this year and Coach Harter for allowing me to come back for a fifth year.

All-American
Dominique Scott

NCAA Cross Country Championships 6K Results (Overall/Score)
1. Dominique Scott (3) – 19:40.90
2. Devin Clark (48/31) – 20:31.70
3. Regan Ward (103/70) – 20:50.40
4. Kelsey Schrader (111/78) – 20:56.50
5. Kaitlin Flattmann (127/94) – 21:02.30
6. Sydney Brown (178/140) – 21:22.40
7. Valerie Reina (217/179) – 21:54.80

For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.