LOUISVILLE — When you see the results for tomorrow’s women’s race at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, don’t be surprised if Dominique Scott is at the top.

Though she’s been labeled a “contender” all season long as the top returner in the women’s field (she was sixth in 2014), the fifth year senior and South Africa native from the University of Arkansas fell to Boise State’s Allie Ostrander and Notre Dame’s Molly Seidel at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, and the media dreamed of the anticipated Ostrander-Seidel rematch.

“I really think it’s anyone’s race,” Scott said. “I know that people are writing up other girls but I feel like I have a great kick as well as great endurance.”


Scott runs her way to her third SEC Cross Country Championship earlier this fall. Photo: Robert Black

She’s right about that. During the indoor season, Scott torched the NCAA field to anchor the Arkansas Razorbacks to their second-consecutive distance medley relay title with a 4:28 1600m split. The next evening, on her home Randal Tyson Track, she won her first individual NCAA crown in the 3K in 8:55. She was runner-up in both 10K and 5K at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, proving she’ll do anything to help her Arkansas team point total (The Razorbacks finished 4th on the podium.). On top of that, she grabbed a new 1500m personal best in Italy this summer, an NCAA-leading 4:08. Off the track, she is unbeaten this season, besides the Wisconsin race.

Individual victories aside, Scott makes it very clear that she’s all about the team. After graduating four of last season’s top five runners and finishing fifth at the NCAA XC Championships, this new Razorback team finished second at the adidas Invite and dominated their SEC and South Central Region Championships. Scott finished third in Wisconsin before winning the SEC, her third title in 19:23, and the South Central, her second straight in 19:53.

Related: Dominique Scott Has Big Plans In Store For 2015

“It’s incredible. We thought this year was going to be a rebuilding year,” Scott said. She credited freshman Devin Clark, Oregon transfer Nikki Hiltz, and the overall improvement of last year’s sophomores and juniors to this year’s success.

“Last year I think we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. Everyone being seniors or fifth year seniors, we wanted it so bad. And I think that made us a little bit nervous. It kind of came through in the emotions. A lot of girls were even crying before the race because it was their last race in a Hog uniform.”

For Scott, however, she’s trying not to think about the emotional aspect of this being her last cross country race for Arkansas. After ending the 2015 season on such a high note, Scott had to decide whether to return for her fifth year of NCAA eligibility. Ultimately, she wanted another opportunity to represent the school that developed her into the superstar she is today.

“We didn’t recruit her [Scott] she recruited us and the good news is she’s going to become an American so we bring them here and convert them to be a U.S. citizen,” Arkansas Head Coach Lance Harter said at today's press conference when asked about international recruiting in the NCAA. (VIDEO: NCAA Coaches Talk International Recruiting)

After tomorrow, she will compete unattached during the indoor season, get married to former Arkansas runner Cameron Efurd in December, and represent the Hogs one more time during outdoor. 

“Whatever happens tomorrow, win or lose, it’s not going to take anything away from what I’ve done these past four years.”