FAYETTEVILLE -- Dominique Scott will be cheering for Arkansas as a spectator today at the SEC cross country championships instead of running for the Razorbacks.
Scott, who won the last three SEC races to lead the Razorbacks to the women's team championships and was an Olympian for her native South Africa last summer, has graduated and is now running professionally.
"I think it's got to be a team effort to fill that void and share the responsibility with Dom being there as a cheerleader versus a competitor," Arkansas Coach Lance Harter said. "I think we have some young people that have a lot of gifts, and I think they're more than anxious to try to help share and fill that void."
Arkansas, ranked No. 10 nationally, is favored to win the team title, but Harter said No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 29 Mississippi State are threats.
"Both have enough firepower that they could knock us off," Harter said. "So we've got to make sure we come ready to race."
Arkansas will be led by sophomore Devin Clark, who finished eighth at last year's SEC meet.
"Devin is definitely our leader," Harter said. "She's stronger than she's ever been and she'll lead our charge."
Also back for the Razorbacks as top 20 finishers at last year's SEC meet are seniors Valerie Reina (11th) and Regan Ward (12th), junior Kelsey Schrader (13th) and sophomore Sydney Brown (20th).
Juniors Nikki Hiltz and Terese Haiss and freshmen Abby Gray and Taylor Werner also will be among Arkansas' runners today. Of the 12 Arkansas runners, only five are counted in the team totals.
"We've got a lot of depth," Harter said. "The opportunity to run 12 athletes at the conference meet definitely helps us."
The Razorbacks will go for their 17th SEC cross country title since joining the conference in 1991 and run the 6,000-meter race -- which starts at 10 a.m. -- at home on the UA Agri Park course.
It's the first time Arkansas has hosted the SEC meet since 2004.
"It's really special to get to strut our stuff in front of our fans," Harter said. "We want to make sure we take care of the opportunity to race at home, because it doesn't come but once every 12 to 14 years."
Arkansas have won seven consecutive SEC championships in cross country and track going back to the 2014 outdoor track title.
"We have a huge target on our back," Harter said. "Sometimes bigger than the body that's carrying it.
"We've got a string right now of championships, and we'd like to keep it going, especially considering it's in our backyard."
Sports on 10/28/2016