No. 1 Razorbacks tangle with five ranked teams in Blazer Classic
Top-ranked Arkansas competes in the Blazer Classic hosted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, racing at 7:45 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, over a 6,000m course at Veterans Park in Meadowbrook, Ala.
Racing with a crew of 17 Razorbacks, this will be the first meet of the season for Arkansas to compete against schools outside of the SEC.
No spectators will be allowed on the course as the event will only include participants, coaches, and working staff. Live results will be available at www.xpresstiming.com.
The field of teams scheduled to compete in the Green race with the Razorbacks include Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.
“This is the final tune-up prior to the conference meet and we will be traveling to Birmingham, Alabama, to run at the Blazer Classic,” said Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter. “We’re looking forward to seeing some really fine ACC teams, some fellow SEC schools will also be there. It will be a lot of new faces we haven’t seen thus far in the season.”
Six nationally ranked teams among the field joining No. 1 Arkansas include No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Mississippi, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 14 Tennessee, and No. 15 Georgia Tech while Vanderbilt is receiving votes.
“As far as trying to satisfy the conditions of what will be required to participate at the national championships in March for cross country, this will give us an opportunity to stack up against some of the ACC’s best and also get a little more of a feel of some of the eastern SEC schools and see how they are doing,” noted Harter.
“The competition will be the best we’ve seen thus far. It will also be at a new course that we’ve never been to, so that will be exciting.”
Florida State, who placed 12th in the 2019 NCAA Championships, won a home meet in its last race with 38 points over Alabama (51) and Georgia Tech (97). Mississippi, who finished 21st in the 2019 NCAA Championships, placed second to Notre Dame (47-54) at Louisville after a runner-up finish to Arkansas (15-46) in the SEC Preview.
Two weeks after the Blazer Classic the Razorbacks will be seeking to defend their league title at the SEC Championships on Oct. 30 in Baton Rouge, La.
“It’s our final tune-up before we head to the SEC Championships,” noted Harter. “It also becomes the final opportunity to figure out who our top 12 athletes will be racing at the SEC Championship meet.
“So, hopefully everyone continues to be healthy. Our training has been fantastic, so we’re super pleased and looking forward to an early morning race, since it’s at 7:45 a.m. Central time.”
Ten schools in the Gold race, which starts at 8:50 a.m., include Arkansas State, Auburn, Clemson, Florida Atlantic, Lee (Tn.), Louisville, South Alabama, South Carolina, Southern Miss, and UAB.
With Arkansas limited to 14 competitors in the Green race, a trio of Razorbacks will compete in the open race, which is scheduled to start at 9:55 a.m.
Comments from Coach Bucknam and Coach Harter