Runner's & Triathlete's Web Athletics: Boyer, Hogs Win at Arkansas Dual

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Arkansas Razorback Lane Boyer started his sophomore season on the right track with a title win at the Arkansas Dual Friday night as Razorback men's cross country opened the 2008 season.

Boyer, a native of Fredonia, Kan., clocked a time of 19:57.6 to take the four-mile race. He also paced the Razorbacks to a win in the team race. Arkansas scored a perfect 15 points with Oklahoma finishing second (51) and Missouri Southern finishing third (64).

"This is a great way to open the season," Boyer said. "This is what I envisioned before the race. I knew I could win because my training has been going so well. I had a great summer of training. It feels great to open up just like I wanted to. This is the first time I have won a race since high school and you run races to win so this feels great."

The win at the Arkansas Dual also marks head coach Chris Bucknam's first meet win at the helm of the Arkansas cross country program.

"This was a very good meet for us," Bucknam said. "I'm very pleased with the effort that we saw from our guys. The guys we ran today looked extremely fit, on par for this time of year. I think we are off to a good start. I'm very proud of them. I saw exactly what I was looking for tonight. I wanted them to be competitive through the first three miles then race the last mile to see what they had left. We held some of better runners out and you'll see them down the road. Right now, (the guys that ran tonight) are our core group."

Finishing second for the Hogs and fourth overall was freshman Eric Fernandez. He clocked a time of 20:03.2. Junior Daniel LaCava was the third member of the team to cross the line. He finished sixth overall with a four-mile time of 20:10.3.

Sophomore Michael Chinchar was fourth on the team and ninth overall (20:19.7). Senior Alex McClary, making his Razorback cross country debut, rounded out Arkansas' scoring five. His time of 20:41.1 was good for a 10th-place finish overall.

Also making his Razorback debut Friday was freshman Rick Elliott. He clocked a four-mile time of 20:44.5, good for a 12th-place finish overall.

Next up for the Hogs will be the Missouri Southern Stampede, Saturday, Sept. 20, in Joplin, Mo. For more information on Arkansas men's cross country, visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.