UA men, women finish top 10 at NCAAs

The University of Arkansas men’s cross country team called the Hogs from the stage and brought home a trophy from the NCAA Championships.

Juniors Patrick Kiprop and Karami Yego led Arkansas to a fourth-place finished Saturday at the national meet held in Earlysville, Va., outside of Charlottesville.

The top four teams earn trophies.

Oklahoma State won the men’s team title with 49 points followed by Northern Arizona (71), BYU (196) and Arkansas (211).

The Razorbacks’ women’s team finished ninth with 329 points.

North Carolina State won the women’s title with 123 points to edge Northern Arizona, which was second with 124.

Kiprop finished seventh in the men’s 10,000-meter race at Panorama Farms, running 29 minutes, 7.7 seconds. Yego, a transfer from South Alabama, was 13th in 29:17.2.

The Razorbacks, who were ranked No. 7 going into the meet and No. 20 in the preseason poll, had their third fourth-place finish in the past four years. They also were fourth in 2020 and 2021.

Sophomore Sydney Thorvaldson led Arkansas’ 12th-ranked women’s team by finishing 11th and running the 6,000- meter race in 19:33.8.

Harvard junior Graham Blanks won the men’s individual title in 28:37.7. Florida junior Parker Valby ran 18:55.2 to win the women’s title.

Also scoring for Arkansas’ men’s team were sophomore Ben Shearer (42nd) and seniors Myles Richter (87th) and Jacob McLeod (100th).

The Razorbacks’ other women’s scorers were senior Laura Taborda (84th), sophomore Mia Cochran (96th), freshman Paityn Noe (101st) and sophomore Mary Ellen Eudaly (139th).

Arkansas State freshman Rahel Brommel finished 203rd in the women’s race.