Clark Paces Arkansas To Fifth Team Win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 10th-ranked Razorback women’s cross country program captured its fifth regular season team title Saturday morning at Agri Park off the heels of super sophomore Devin Clark.
Opting to open her second year at the Chile Pepper Festival, Clark made full use of her home field advantage, expertly and expediently navigating the fast-paced 5K course.
The 2016 steeplechase All-American demolished her personal best time by nine seconds to take the overall runner-up spot in 16 minutes, 19.36 seconds.
Saturday proved to be the rise of the underclassmen for Arkansas as two additional young Razorbacks made swift moves into head coach Lance Harter’s top five.
Coming through immediately behind Clark was four-time Missouri state cross country champion Taylor Werner who also posted a new 5K PR, crossing the finish line in 16:31.03 to place third among D-I competitors in the first? race of her collegiate career.
Fellow newcomer Carina Viljoen was the fourth runner to finish for Arkansas, placing fifth in the D-I competition and 14th overall.
In addition to the three Razorback underclassmen, Oregon transfers Therese Haiss and Nikki Hiltz completed in the top five as the third and fifth runners for Arkansas, respectively.
Clark, Werner, Haiss, Viljoen and Hiltz all ran times good enough for the Razorbacks’ all-time best 5K top-20 list, landing third, seventh, eighth, 11th and 16th, respectively.
Razorback leaders Valerie Reina and Regan Ward both secured sub-17 minute performances in the competition along with Sydney Brown and Abby Gray as all four staked their claim inside the top-15 best of the day.
Arkansas next travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, for its last competition of the regular season, the Pre-National meet on Saturday, Oct. 15.
Top Five Team Results
1. Arkansas, 22 (2-3-4-5-8)
2. Missouri, 72 (1-13-15-17-26)
3. Texas Christian, 127 (16-20-21-28-42)
4. Wichita State, 134 (10-14-19-39-52)
5. Samford, 156 (6-12-33-41-64)
Arkansas Results (D-I Overall Finishes)
2. Devin Clark – 16:19.36
3. Taylor Werner – 16:31.03
4. Therese Haiss – 16:33.83
5. Carina Viljoen – 16:36.30
8. Nikki Hiltz – 16:42.19
9. Regan Ward – 16:45.97
11. Sydney Brown – 16:50.52
13. Valerie Reina – 16:54.40
15. Abby Gray – 16:58.72
17. Madeleine Reed – 17:03.98
23. Rachel Nichwitz – 17:14.45
31. Safee Belbina – 17:34.86
33. Micah Huckabee – 17:39.81
36. Kailee Sawyer – 17:41.39
38. Logan Bishop – 17:45.99
49. Grace Taylor – 18:05.52
56. Katie Adams – 18:09.40
66. Emily Jeacock – 18:19.05
70. Sabrina Herrmann – 18:21.97
119. Kristen Larkan – 19:11.10
2016 Cross Country Schedule
Thurs, Sept. 1 – Cowboy Duals (Stillwater, Okla.) | 1st of 6
Sat, Sept. 17 – Southern Stampede (Joplin, Mo.) | 1st of 2
Sat, Sept. 17 – Riverside Invitational (Riverside, Calif.) | 1st of 20
Sat, Oct. 1 – Chile Pepper Festival (Agri Park) 10:20 a.m. | 1st of 18
Sat, Oct. 15 – Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.) 10:00 a.m.
Fri, Oct. 28 – SEC Championship (Agri Park) 11:00 a.m.
Fri, Nov. 11 – NCAA South Central Regional (Agri Park) 10:00 a.m.
Sat, Nov. 19 – NCAA Championship (Terre Haute, Ind.) 10:00 a.m.
Bold denotes a home event.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
