Razorbacks look to end 20-season drought without podium finish by securing first Division 1 championship, completing calendar-year sweep of all three national team titles

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

During one of the brightest periods in the history of the Arkansas track and field program, a dark cloud of disappointment at the national level has instead hovered over the Razorbacks women’s cross country team for the past five years.

Although Arkansas has won a combined four women’s Division 1 titles in indoor and outdoor track and field since 2015, the Razorbacks have only cracked the top 10 once at the NCAA Cross Country Championships during that same span and endured three frustrating finishes in a row, including 14th place last season.

And despite placing 10 times in the top 10, including four runner-up efforts, coach Lance Harter is still looking to capture his first Division 1 cross country title in his 30th season in Fayetteville after winning eight in a row from 1982-89 at then-Division 2 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

So, when the Razorbacks arrive in Terre Haute, Ind., for Saturday’s championship meet at the LaVern Gibson course, it won’t be a tentative group ready to make excuses for past performances.

Instead, it will be a mature, confident and veteran lineup – including fifth-year seniors Devin Clark and Katie Izzo, plus seniors Maddy Reed, Carina Viljoen and Taylor Werner, along with juniors Lauren Gregory and Abby Gray – motivated to make history.

“In the past, we just did not ever have the right attitude going into Nationals,” Clark said. “It was always just, ‘We'll just do our best,’ and this is not enough at Nationals. Nationals requires confidence. This year we talk about winning, we talk about our confidence in each other and we talk about race plans. I have never felt so pumped about a race before. All we have to do is what we’ve been doing all season and we could really get this one.”

Despite individual successes in recent years – Dominique Scott Efurd was third in 2015 and Werner finished 16th in 2016 to both earn All-America honors, with Viljoen placing in the top 50 in 2017 and Katrina Robinson also achieving the feat last season – confidence is something the Razorbacks have lacked overall as a group at the championship meet since placing ninth in 2015.

Before its 14th-place performance last season, Arkansas finished 13th in 2017 and 19th in 2016.

“The year before last year’s performance, we were all injured, and I think we used that to justify why we did poorly. Since last year was kind of a comeback season for all of us, it took a huge amount of confidence to be able to perform well, and sadly I don’t think any of us had that,” Werner said. “So when things got hard, it felt like we weren’t good enough versus the fact that everyone around us probably felt the same or worse. However, we didn’t have anything to justify the poor performance like the previous year.

“Doing bad two years in a row was a big enough wake-up call. I looked in the mirror the next day (after nationals) and thought to myself, ‘Is this something that you want to keep doing?’ and the answer was, ‘Yes.’ So, I shifted my mindset, started believing in myself during workouts and I just noticed that the other girls were on the same page that I was.”

Through five meets this season, that mindset hasn’t wavered for Arkansas, including victories over fellow national championship contender Stanford at both the John McNichols and Nuttycombe invitationals, along with placing its first five scorers in the top 10 at the Southeastern Conference Championships and sweeping the top five spots at the South Central Regional.

It marked the eighth consecutive SEC crown and 20th overall for the Razorbacks, in addition to the ninth straight regional title and 23rd in program history.

“We’ve got a special group, there’s no doubt about it,” Harter said. “(At Nuttycombe) we kind of set the dyecast that we need to follow and the goal has been to just make it consistent. If we can squeeze Lauren up a little bit tighter, then it will only help us that much more.”

Another asset for the Razorbacks has been the ability to demonstrate growth following past setbacks, understanding not only how they happened, but why they transpired in an effort to improve on their flaws and recognize their strengths, both individually and collectively.

“Maybe this is the optimist in me, but I think these past few ‘fails’ have been a huge blessing in disguise. It’s a constant reminder that mentality plays a huge role in this sport,” Werner said. “Seeing the good out of everything – even a terrible workout is something that my teammates and I have been able to accomplish and remind each other of, and it’s obviously made a huge impact.”

Although Gregory has been building strength throughout the season after recovering from a foot injury, perhaps the greatest example of resiliency and determination for the Razorbacks has been demonstrated by Clark, who ran only one cross country race last season because of recurring pain in her plantar fasciitis and Achilles.

After earning All-America honors in both indoor and outdoor track, Clark has returned to the cross country lineup this season to place in the top 10 in all five of Arkansas’ meets.

“Honestly, some of my hardships have been such a blessing. They made me realize my love for this sport,” Clark said. “Just being back running with my best friends was more than I could ask for. They have constantly picked me up every time I fell, so I will give everything I possibly can give on Saturday because I owe my teammates that.

“We have had a critical shift this year in attitude and I think that comes from our maturity, experience and personality of the top runners. No one on this team is afraid to give it their all anymore. And we all genuinely want to improve ourselves and each other every day at practice.”

The absence of fear has also allowed Arkansas not to dwell on a 20-year drought without a podium finish and instead embrace the opportunities in front of them against one of the strongest fields in meet history, competing against Brigham Young, Stanford, Washington, Michigan State, New Mexico and North Carolina State, along with reigning national champion Colorado.

“We sat down after Nuttycombe and told them, ‘Look at where we were and where we are now,’” Harter said. “If we can continue to nurture that and develop it, stay healthy and build momentum, it’s going to make us a very formidable foe.”

In addition to the potential to capture the program’s first national championship, Arkansas could also make history by becoming only the third Division 1 school to complete a women’s triple crown by consecutively winning national titles in indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and cross country.

Texas achieved a calendar-year triple crown of women’s championships in 1986, with Oregon winning all three during the 2016-17 school year.

“I think winning the triple crown would be an amazing thing to be a part of,” Clark said. “It would just show how well-rounded our program is. We have extremely talented sprinters, multis, field athletes and long distance athletes across the board and this just shows how successful our coaches are in recruiting and developing. It is rare to find a program that can be that strong across all aspects.”

Arkansas has achieved six SEC triple crowns during Harter’s three decades in Fayetteville, including four in the past five years, but the pursuit of a national trifecta isn’t adding any extra pressure for the Razorbacks entering Saturday’s race.

“Obviously it would mean a lot, but personally I make sure to not think about it too much because I know that I have to get my job done first if I want to help win that title,” Werner said. “This group is special for many reasons and I have no doubt we can do it. At the end of the day, having that extra motive of the team win I think will all give us that extra ‘grit’ when things get hard Saturday.”

Werner demonstrated that selfless approach at both the indoor and outdoor track championship meets, coming up with exceptional top-five finishes in the 3,000 meters and distance medley relay to help Arkansas secure its first indoor national title since 2015, before adding two more All-America efforts by placing runner-up in the 5,000 and fourth in the 10,000 to contribute to the Razorbacks’ first outdoor crown since 2016.

But the sole focus of Werner and her teammates this week is attacking the 6-kilometer course Saturday in Terre Haute and demonstrating the confidence, resilience and toughness that has taken an entire career to emerge when it is needed most.

And that mixture of experience and desire might finally add up to the winning combination for Arkansas.

“We’re present in the ‘now’ and we’re going to keep it that way. If it happens, we’ll celebrate and tears will be shed, I’m sure of it. If not, then the world will keep on turning,” Werner said. “I know that if I go out strong and am competitive from the start to finish, I know my teammates will follow right along side me, and that’s something I’m most proud of – being a part of a team that has overcome that fear, doubt and disappointment to do such great things.

“I couldn’t tell you how blessed I feel to have the teammates that I do. They know me sometimes better than I know myself, and we build each other up so well. Having that love and companionship all the time is going to give us that extra motive, and that’s what I’m most excited for.”