Arkansas Debuts in Top 10 of Directors' Cup Standings

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas debuted among the nation's top 10 intercollegiate athletics programs in the initial 2016-17 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings released on Thursday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America (NACDA). The Directors' Cup tracks the nation's most successful intercollegiate athletics programs for their performances throughout the year.

Arkansas, ranked No. 10, is one of only two SEC programs (Ole Miss) in the top 35 of the initial standings. The standings released on Thursday included women's field hockey, men's cross country and women's cross country. After both the Arkansas men's and women's teams won the SEC Cross Country Championship in October, the two squads earned top-20 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Nov. 19.

The men's cross country team capped its season by returning to the top-five of the NCAA Cross Country meet for the first time in a decade. Arkansas was led by the junior tandem of Alex George and Jack Bruce who both secured finishes inside the top 20. The Razorbacks' top-five team finish was their best performance since 2006 when they also placed fifth at the championships in Terre Haute. Arkansas earned 75 points for its fifth-place finish and now has ranked in the top 10 nationally in four of the past seven seasons.

Arkansas women's cross country raced to a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship to earn 55 points. The Razorbacks were led by Taylor Werner who finished 16th in the individual race. Werner earned All-America honors and was the second highest freshman finisher in the NCAA meet. Arkansas has now finished as a top-20 national cross country power five years in a row, dating back to its 14th-place finish at the 2011 national meet.

Arkansas tallied 820 points and finished 23rd last year in the 2015-16 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, the eighth top 30 finish in the past nine years. The Razorbacks' also earned a top-25 finish in the final ranks for the sixth time since the previously independent men's and women's athletics programs were combined in 2008.