Werner Joins Elite Razorback Freshman All-Americans
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Led by an impressive underclassmen contingent headlined by Taylor Werner, the Arkansas women’s cross country team raced to a 19th-place finish at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship in Terre Haute.
Arkansas has now finished as a top-20 national cross country power five years in a row, dating back to its 14th-place finish at the 2011 national meet.
Competing in her first NCAA cross country national championship, Werner looked strong and comfortable with her position among the lead runners through the opening 2K. The Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, native continued to progress steadily through the race, saving her final push for the homestretch, which saw Werner kick across the finish line in a new PR of 20 minutes, 10.50 seconds.
Werner is the sixth Arkansas runner to earn All-America honors in her freshman year, joining an elite group including Jody Rittenhouse (1978, AIAW), Michelle Byrne (1991), Shelley Taylor (1992), Amy Yoder (1996) and Brooke Upshaw (2006).
Sophomore Devin Clark was Arkansas’ second finisher of the day, placing 118th overall in 20:55.00. Clark was joined in Arkansas’ top five by Regan Ward (143rd), Nikki Hiltz (154th) and Abby Gray (168th).
Therese Haiss and Valerie Reina rounded out the Razorback seven finishing 173rd and 215th, respectively.
Head coach Lance Harter Quotables
On Taylor Werner becoming an All-American as a freshman:
“We’re absolutely elated with the performance by Taylor; to be a freshman All-American is a very, very rare feat. It’s attribute to her talent and her ability to race. She handles herself very maturely in the heat of the battle.”
On the team’s national finish:
“Cross country is kind of a game of averages. In any given race you have seven opportunities for your athletes to race and this time we came out with three people having great races and four having not as good of races as we had hoped for. It basically came down to the start; we didn’t get out and get mixed up in the battle and didn’t come from behind. We didn’t really follow the race plan. The conditions were obviously something that was impossible, especially this fall, for us to prepare for. To go from the 70s and 80 to a windchill of below 30 just in a matter of hours is something that is hard to prepare for and a few of our athletes physically and mentally had a tough time coping.”
Taylor Werner Quotables
On becoming an All-American as a freshman:
“It’s unreal becoming an All-American. I knew I had an outside chance with perfect conditions, but I never knew I as capable of how the race actually played out.”
On the navigating the tough weather conditions:
“The weather was definitely was a test to everyone out there; it’s just one of those things you have to deal with on a given day. Everybody had to deal with it and I just had to remember that prior to the race starting. Once the gun went off it never crossed my mind again. I just had to keep telling myself to be patient and relax.”
Taylor Werner Freshman Year Wrap Up
• NCAA All-American
• All-Region
• Two-time SEC Freshman Runner of the Week
• Top-10 Razorback 5K Performance: 16:31.03 (Chile Pepper Festival)
• Top-15 Razorback 6K Performance: 20:10.50 (NCAA Championship)
Top Five Team Results
1. Oregon, 125 (4-9-16-47-49)
2. Michigan, 126 (2-13-24-37-50)
3. Colorado, 134 (17-20-31-32-34)
4. NC State, 223 (12-19-38-67-87)
5. Stanford, 255 (29-30-52-66-78)
19. Arkansas, 476 (11-90-114-124-137)
Arkansas Women’s Results (Scored Finishes)
16. Taylor Werner (11) – 20:10.50
118. Devin Clark (90) – 20:55.00
143. Regan Ward (114) – 21:01.10
154. Nikki Hiltz (124) – 21:04.80
168. Abby Gray (137) – 21:10.50
173. Therese Haiss (141) – 21:11.90
215. Valerie Reina (179) -21:42.90
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. | 5th of 42
Fri, Oct. 28 – SEC Championship (Agri Park) 10:00 a.m. | 1st of 14
Fri, Nov. 11 – NCAA South Central Regional (Agri Park) 11:00 a.m. | 1st of 20
Sat, Nov. 19 – NCAA Championship (Terre Haute, Ind.) | 19th of 31
Bold denotes a home event.
For more information on Arkansas track and field including in-meet updates, follow @RazorbackTF on Twitter.
