NCAAs next for No. 9 Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE – Down to its final race of the season, the No. 9 University of Arkansas men’s cross country team will take the course Monday for the 2010 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The men’s 10K race is scheduled for an 11:48 a.m. (CT) start at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course. The national meet will be streamed live at NCAA.com.

"Every good runner and every good team is on the line at one time," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "You have to race them all together so anything can happen. It’s so hard to predict what might happen. It’s impossible because we’re all competing for that same half hour. Our job is to get ourselves ready like we’ve done for the SEC meet and at regionals. We need to get our heads straight and be ready for a great performance."

Including Arkansas, the 18 teams that automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships are Alabama, Colorado, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Iona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Princeton, Stanford, Syracuse, Texas, Villanova, William & Mary, Wisconsin. The 13 teams to receive at-large bids are BYU, California, Georgetown, Louisville, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Northern Arizona, Notre Dame, Penn State, Portland, Providence, Richmond and Virginia.

The Razorbacks secured their automatic team bid with a championship run last weekend at the South Central Regional meet in Waco, Texas. Sophomore Solomon Haile led a trio of top-five finishers for Arkansas, including Dorian Ulrey and Eric Fernandez. All five of the team’s scored finished in the top 14-Haile (2nd), Ulrey (3rd), Fernandez (4th), Lane Boyer (8th) and Rick Elliott (14th).

Arkansas is making its 41st appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Razorbacks have won 11 national cross country titles since first competing in the event in 1957. Arkansas also has five runner-up finishes (1980, 1985, 1996, 1997 and 2005) and three bronze results (1981, 1982 and 2001). Joe Falcon (1987) and Godfrey Siamusiye (1995 and 1996) are Arkansas’ past individual champions.

In the most recent release of the USTFCCCA national poll (Nov. 16), the Razorbacks are the ninth-ranked team in the country, making a trip back into the top 10 for a second time this season. As it has been all year, the team remains the top-ranked crew in the final poll of the South Central region.

Download: 11.15.10 NCAAs.pdf