Arkansas finishes fourth in SEC, Paityn Noe claims bronze

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Arkansas placed fourth in the SEC Cross Country Championships with 132 points while placing three individuals among the top 11 at Texas A&M’s Watts course on Friday morning.

Razorback sophomore Paityn Noe led the Razorbacks in placing third over the 6,000m course with a time of 18:37.6 to finish behind Alabama’s Doris Lemngole, who won in a course record of 18:20.3, with Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi runner-up in 18:25.0.

“Going into the race my plan was to stay with the leaders and hang on as long as I could,” said Noe. “I wanted to make sure I was up there at the beginning and kind of settle in with them. I wanted to cover the moves when they made moves, because you know they’re coming.

“So, I knew on this course you don’t want to get into no man’s land. That was my main goal, and I think I did a pretty good job.”

Sydney Thorvaldson produced a 10th place performance in her first race of the season for Arkansas, covering the course in 19:36.6, while Mia Cochran finished 11th in 19:37.8.

“It was real exciting, and I didn’t have a ton of expectations going into the race,” said Thorvaldson. “Coach kept saying I know how to race and this isn’t my first SEC meet.

“It was just a matter of knowing I can compete and have teammates who have uplifted me this year through a roller coaster of a season. It was fun for me to go out and snag a top 10.”

Noe added: “We we’re so excited to have her back for this race. It was awesome, I knew she would do well and help us out a lot.”

Alabama claimed the team title with 72 points over Tennessee (103) and defending champion Florida (122). In a comparison of the top three runners for Alabama (1-4-15) and Arkansas (3-10-11) there was only a difference of four points (20-24) separating the two programs.

Olivia Pielemeier finished fourth among the Razorbacks, placing 51st overall in 20:18.8, while Tiana LoStracco completed the Arkansas team score in placing 60th with a time of 20:28.8. They were 50th and 58th in adjusted scoring.

Also racing for the Razorbacks in the conference meet were Mackenzie Rogers (79th | 20:41.8), Chachi Gonzales (124th | 21:20.4), Ruby Little (130th | 21:27.1), and Morgan Kirkland (171st | 23:20.0).

Finishing behind the Razorbacks in team scoring were Texas (150), Ole Miss (155), LSU (213), Auburn (223), Vanderbilt (253), Texas A&M (269), Mississippi State (273), Oklahoma (283), Missouri (291), South Carolina (312), Kentucky (318), and Georgia (487).

Arkansas returns to the Watts course in two weeks for the NCAA South Central Region where the top two teams earn an automatic bid for the NCAA Championships.