Spring Break
Razorbacks look to take regional
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Sports
After winning a third-straight Southeastern Conference championship, the No. 12 Arkansas women's cross country team will look to keep positive momentum going Saturday for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships, Arkansas head coach Lance Harter said.
But Harter said the team faces a challenge in running back-to-back races on the shortest schedule this year.
"After the win at the SEC Championships, we are really excited," Harter said. "We have some real positive momentum individually and as a team. We want to try to continue that momentum, but at the same time this will be the closest we run back-to-back races."
Harter said the team had to be careful with its race plan during preparation for the event, especially after competing on a course last week that was difficult.
"That course ended up beating up both the men and women's team," Harter said. "We ended up having to take more recovery time, because it was so physically challenging. But this is the time of the year you can afford to do that."
Harter said the course in Waco, Texas, should be better for the team compared to last week.
With the top two teams at the event earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, Arkansas will look to secure its postseason birth in a field that includes No. 18 Baylor, No. 19 SMU and No. 22 Rice.
But with Arkansas having a solid case for an at-large bid, Harter said the team will look to win the region but try not to overextend themselves, as the ultimate goal is the national championship, he said.
Although the team won its 13th SEC championship last week, Harter said the team has room for improvement.
"I think our fourth and fifth runners were way too far back," Harter said. "I think our front three had good races. But Dacia Perkins ended up having a real bad side ache [early in the race]. We basically had Jillian Rosen kind of run with her to make sure they got through it together."
Harter said the performances were not indicative of what the two are capable of heading into regional.
But Harter said the team faces a challenge in running back-to-back races on the shortest schedule this year.
"After the win at the SEC Championships, we are really excited," Harter said. "We have some real positive momentum individually and as a team. We want to try to continue that momentum, but at the same time this will be the closest we run back-to-back races."
Harter said the team had to be careful with its race plan during preparation for the event, especially after competing on a course last week that was difficult.
"That course ended up beating up both the men and women's team," Harter said. "We ended up having to take more recovery time, because it was so physically challenging. But this is the time of the year you can afford to do that."
Harter said the course in Waco, Texas, should be better for the team compared to last week.
With the top two teams at the event earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, Arkansas will look to secure its postseason birth in a field that includes No. 18 Baylor, No. 19 SMU and No. 22 Rice.
But with Arkansas having a solid case for an at-large bid, Harter said the team will look to win the region but try not to overextend themselves, as the ultimate goal is the national championship, he said.
Although the team won its 13th SEC championship last week, Harter said the team has room for improvement.
"I think our fourth and fifth runners were way too far back," Harter said. "I think our front three had good races. But Dacia Perkins ended up having a real bad side ache [early in the race]. We basically had Jillian Rosen kind of run with her to make sure they got through it together."
Harter said the performances were not indicative of what the two are capable of heading into regional.
Be the first to comment on this story