Bucknam, George And Young Collect Conference Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In recognition of their contributions in aiding Arkansas to claim its 50th league title head coach Chris Bucknam and Razorback runners Alex George and Matt Young received top Southeastern Conference awards, announced Wednesday afternoon.

Bucknam was named the SEC Coach of the Year for the eighth-consecutive time, voted to that distinction by his peers. Currently in his 10th season leading the Hogs, Bucknam continued his long-standing streak of success at the conference level, guiding his team ahead of worthy opponents to a 40-point margin of victory at the SEC Cross Country Championships. At the event, Bucknam’s squad was one of two teams to notch three top-10 finishes. His entire top-five placed among the top-15 best runners of a meet which featured 111 competitors.

Bucknam SEC Era
• Eight-time SEC Cross Country Champions
• Eight-time SEC Coach of the Year
• Four SEC individual champions: E. Fernandez (2011), K. Campbell (2013), S. Kebenei (2014) and A. George (2016).
• SEC Championships 8K record-holder: Kemoy Campbell (2013), 22:58.73

Smart and Swift
An All-SEC first team performer off his fourth-place finish at the championships, Alex George was recognized as the SEC Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year for his efforts in the classroom. George holds a cumulative GPA of 3.54 in criminal justice with a perfect 4.00 record for the fall 2017 term. Since joining the Razorbacks in 2014, George has been celebrated as the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year (2014) and the SEC Runner of the Year (2016).

New Generation
An Arkansas runner was named the SEC Freshman Runner of the Year for the second-consecutive season thanks to newcomer Matt Young who emerged as the best underclassman performer of the championships. Young was the fourth Razorback to complete the race and finished 11th overall in his Arkansas debut. His performance garnered him All-SEC second team recognition and he was also named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

All-SEC
In total, Arkansas departed Athens with its 25th SEC cross country trophy and five All-SEC performers including first team selections: Alex George (fourth), Jack Bruce (sixth) and Cameron Griffith (seventh) and two second team selections: Matt Young (11th) and Austen Dalquist (13th).

All-SEC Cross Country Teams

Men’s First Team
Vincent Kiprop, Alabama
Gilbert Kigen, Alabama
Alfred Chelanga, Alabama
Alex George, Arkansas
Jacob Thomson, Kentucky
Jack Bruce, Arkansas
Cameron Griffith, Arkansas

Men’s Second Team
Sean Tobin, Ole Miss
Christian Farris, Texas A&M
Zach Long, Tennessee
Matt Young, Arkansas
Bryan Kamau, Georgia
Austen Dalquist, Arkansas
Derek Gutierrez, Ole Miss

Men’s All-Freshman Team
Matt Young, Arkansas
Parker Scott, Ole Miss
Waleed Suliman, Ole Miss
John Elrod, Tennessee
Alex Crigger, Tennessee
Eric Coston, LSU
Marshall Dillon, Florida

2017 Cross Country Schedule
Fri, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Preview (Stillwater, Okla.) 1st of 4
Fri, Sept. 15 – Iona College Meet of Champions (New York, N.Y.) 2nd of 11
Sat, Sept. 30 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) 1st of 40
Sat, Oct. 14 – Pre-Nationals (Louisville, Ky.) 9th of 40
Fri, Oct. 27 – SEC Championship (Athens, Ga.) 1st of 13
Fri, Nov. 10 – NCAA South Central Regional (College Station, Texas)
Sat, Nov. 18 – NCAA Championship (Louisville, Ky.)

*italicized meet denotes completion.

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