Arkansas Earns Automatic Berth to Nationals

WACO, Texas (UA Sports Information)- The second-ranked Razorbacks remained undefeated for the season and earned an automatic trip to the national championships as they claimed their 16th-consecutive NCAA South Central Regional title on Saturday morning. Arkansas tallied 33 points with all seven of its runners finishing in the top 15 of the 10K race. Tenth-ranked Texas came in second place with 46 points, while Texas A&M was third with 128 on the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course. "We ran to win the team title," Arkansas head coach John McDonnell said. "From top to bottom all the guys ran great. I was pleased because it wasnt that hot, but there was 100 percent humidity and strong winds and the guys got out of there with a solid victory." Junior Peter Kosgei and defending regional champion senior Josphat Boit ran the entire race side-by-side, but in the end it was Kosgei who came out on top when he earned runner-up honors with a time of 30:30.25. It marked the first time this year Kosgei has been UAs top runner. Boit was just five hundredths of a second behind in third with a clocking of 30:30.30. Texas Pan-Americans Westley Keating took the individual title in a time of 29:30. Senior Josh Robles also had his best showing of the year when he registered a time of 31:02 for seventh place. It was only the second time the Rio Rico, Ariz., native had been a member of UAs scoring five. Junior Adam Perkins improved on his 10th place showing from 2004 and crossed the line in ninth place (31:13). Junior Seth Summerside rounded out the scorers in 12th place (31:27). Freshman Chris Barnicle completed his first 10K of the season when he turned in a time of 31:31 for 13th place and sophomore Jonathan Norris bettered his 22nd-place performance from last year as he finished 15th (31:49). The NCAA Cross Country Championships are set for Nov. 21, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. Arkansas will be going for its 12th national title in cross country and 42nd NCAA crown overall. The last time the Hogs brought the team trophy was in 2000.