University of Arkansas sophomore Taylor Ewert, who was out most of last year because of a foot injury, opened the cross country season by winning the individual title at the Cowboy Preview on Thursday in Stillwater, Okla., to lead the Razorbacks to the team victory.
Ewert, competing for the first time in 11 months, ran the 3,000 meters course in 10 minutes, 38.6 seconds.
Arkansas, which won the team title with 42 points, had its five scorers finish among the top 15 individuals.
Senior Katie McCune, a transfer from NCAA Division II Drury College, was seventh overall for the Razorbacks in 10:47.2, followed by senior Julia Paternain (eighth, 10:48.1), junior Nyah Hernandez (11th, 10:50.5) and senior Gracie Hyde (15th, 10:55.3).
“It’s been almost a year since my last race,” Ewert said in an Arkansas news release. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but it just feels good to get my feet underneath me.
“I still have a ways to go, and this is definitely a positive start. I just hope everyone keeps improving and the whole team has a great season.”
Texas A&M took second with 56 points, SMU was third (67), Oklahoma State fourth (70) and Tulsa fifth (119).
“This was a good meet to kind of get that initial competition under our belt,” Arkansas women’s Coach Lance Harter said in a UA news release. “It comes very quickly when school has barely started. A lot of it is a reflection on what kind of summer training they had.”
In the men’s 5,000 meters race, Arkansas sophomore Eliah Schreml took third in 14:56.5 as the Razorbacks were second in the team standings with 51 points. Oklahoma State won with 42 points.
Other scorers for the Razorbacks were junior Myles Richter (sixth, 15:03.9), freshman Ben Shearer (10th, 15:11.8), junior Josh Shearer (15:18.1) and freshman Jack Williams (15:26.6).
Texas A&M finished third with 52 points and Tulsa was fourth with 78.
“We’ve only been together for a week and a half now since school started,” Arkansas men’s Coach Chris Bucknam said in a UA news release. “We haven’t been in camp very long, we haven’t been together for a long time, but this was a good opener for us.
“I’m just looking for effort right now. It’s not about time, it’s just about guys putting in a great effort.
“If they do that consistently over the course of the season we’re going to get better. So, I thought we were off to a good start today."
Oklahoma State freshman Alex Stitt won the individual title in 14:54.9 with Texas A&M junior Eric Casarez second in 14:55.3.