FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas women’s track team will be without its most decorated distance runner for the outdoor season.
Sixth-year senior Lauren Gregory suffered a navicular fracture in her right foot during the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., on March 11. She underwent surgery last Wednesday.
“She comes to every practice now, even despite being on crutches post-surgery, and she is the leader of the team,” Arkansas coach Lance Harter said.
“She’s a phenomenal student with a degree in biological engineering — a Masters in sustainability engineering. She’s the consummate leader and always has been that way.”
Gregory finished second place in the mile and was part of the runner-up distance medley relay team in Albuquerque. She won the mile and the 3,000 meters at the SEC meet in Fayetteville last month, and was the meet’s high-point scorer with 21.5.
Harter said Gregory suffered the injury during the closing stages of the mile race in Albuquerque. He said Gregory told her coaches after the race that she felt a pop in her foot.
Arkansas is expected to challenge for an outdoor championship at the SEC and NCAA level, though Gregory’s injury could alter the team’s scoring projections.
She scored 14 points at the SEC outdoor meet last year with a second-place finish in the 1,500 and a third-place finish in the 5,000. She finished fifth in the 5,000 to score four points at the NCAA outdoor meet last year.
Harter said he expects Gregory to turn pro following the outdoor season. In addition to track, she has excelled as a mountain runner and was the winner at the inaugural USATF Mountain Running Championships in New Hampshire last July.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to open the outdoor season next week with athletes at the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational.