In a rare twist it was Alabama, not Arkansas, that swept the SEC cross country championships Friday in Oxford, Miss.
The Crimson Tide women finished with 36 points and the men finished with 59 points to break long conference championship droughts. The Alabama men won their first championship since 2009 and the women won their first since 1987.
Arkansas’ women finished second with 74 points and the Razorbacks tied Tennessee with 64 points in a tight men’s race. The Volunteers won a tiebreaker to finish in second place and Arkansas’ men were third.
It is the second time neither Arkansas team won at the SEC meet since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1991. The only other time it happened was 2009, the last time the race was held in Oxford.
The Arkansas women had a nine-year win streak snapped at the SEC meet. The Razorbacks’ men had won the past two conference titles.
Arkansas’ men had a 5-10-12-16-21 finish in the 8,000-meter race. Patrick Kiprop led the Razorbacks with a fifth-place time of 22:56.2.
Alabama’s Victor Kiprop won the men’s individual title with a time of 22:39.0, nearly four seconds faster than Tennessee’s Dylan Jacobs.
Florida’s Parker Valby won the women’s 6,000-meter race in 18:25.87, almost eight seconds faster than Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat, a two-time national champion.
Arkansas had a 4-11-12-21-26 finish in the women’s race. Isabel Van Camp led the Razorbacks with a fourth-place time of 19:05.50.
Both Arkansas teams will race next at the NCAA South Central Regional on Nov. 11 in College Station, Texas.
Women’s Team Scores
1. Alabama 36
2. Arkansas 74
3. Ole Miss 83
4. Kentucky 122
5. Florida 147
6. Tennessee 159
7. LSU 201
8. Texas A&M 208
9. Vanderbilt 223
10. Auburn 260
11. Missouri 276
12. South Carolina 326
13. Georgia 395
14. Mississippi State 414
Men’s Team Scores
1. Alabama 59
2. Tennessee 64
3. Arkansas 64
4. Ole Miss 65
5. Texas A&M 126
6. Kentucky 190
7. Auburn 199
8. Missouri 219
9. Georgia 229
10. Florida 294
11. LSU 347
12. Vanderbilt 347
Arkansas Women Scorers
4. Isabel Van Camp, 19:05.50
11. Sydney Thorvaldson, 20:00.60
12. Mia Cochran, 20:01.16
21. Katie McCune, 20:31.96
26: Gracie Hyde, 20:36.66
Arkansas Men Scorers
5. Patrick Kiprop, 22:56.20
10. Elias Schreml, 23:23.55
12. Myles Richter, 23:30.87
16: Jacob McLeod, 23:42.75
21. Ben Shearer, 23:57.61