AYETTEVILLE — For Lance Harter, deciding to become the head coach of Arkansas’ women’s cross country and track and field teams 25 years ago was more of a marathon than a sprint.
“Usually when you make a job offer, you give a coach 24 hours to make a decision, 48 hours at the most,” said Bev Lewis, who as Arkansas’ women’s athletic director hired Harter in 1990. “Lance took about a week before he agreed to come here.”
At a glance
At Bank of the Ozarks Arena, Hot Springs
WHERE Randal Tyson Track Center, Fayetteville
WHEN Friday through Saturday
SCHEDULE Field events start at 4 p.m. Friday with running events at 6 p.m. Field events start at 3:30 p.m. Saturday with running events at 6 p.m. The heptathlon starts at 10 a.m. Friday and 10:45 a.m. Saturday. The pentathlon starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
MEN’S DEFENDING CHAMPION Oregon
WOMEN’S DEFENDING CHAMPION Oregon
MEN’S CONTENDERS No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 4 Texas A&M
WOMEN’S CONTENDERS No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Georgia
TICKETS $30
Lewis didn’t mind.
“Definitely not,” she said. “Lance was worth the wait.”
Harter has built Arkansas into a national power with eight top-five NCAA finishes in cross country — including four second-place finishes — along with six top-five finishes in indoor track and six top-10 finishes in outdoor track. His teams have won 25 conference championships, including SEC cross country and indoor track titles this school year.
Lewis, who retired last year, was Arkansas’ cross country and track and field coach before going into administration. Hiring her coaching replacement was especially important on a personal level.
“I wanted to leave it in really good hands,” Lewis said. “I couldn’t have left it in any better hands than Lance’s. I felt he’d take the program up another notch, and that’s exactly what’s happened.
“He’s put Arkansas track and field and cross country on the women’s map nationally.”
Harter, 64, said he is proud of Arkansas’ record of consistent excellence at the SEC and NCAA meets, accomplishments reflected by his induction last summer into the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Still, there is one prize that has alluded Harter with the Razorbacks: A national championship.
That might change this weekend.
Arkansas is ranked No. 1 in the coaches’ poll going into the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday at the UA’s Randal Tyson Track Center.
The Razorbacks are riding high after running away with the SEC meet two weeks ago, when they won with 130 points while No. 2 Florida took second with 86.
Arkansas has 15 athletes competing in 10 events this weekend, led by Dominique Scott (No. 1 in the 3,000 meters), Sandi Morris (No. 2 in the pole vault), Chrishuna Williams (No. 2 in the 800), Taylor Ellis-Watson (No. 3 in the 400) and Tamara Myers (No. 3 in the triple jump).
“We’ve had some great teams, but this is probably our greatest team ever,” Harter said. “We’ve got front-line performers and balance and depth across the board.
“We’re healthy, we have a lot of positive momentum, and I think our kids are really focused. If we can duplicate what we’ve done in the past few weeks, I think the results will speak for themselves.”
Scott, a redshirt junior who came to Arkansas from South Africa, said the Razorbacks are devoted to Harter.
“We’re not racing for ourselves, we’re racing for Coach Harter,” she said. “Hopefully this time around everything will go as planned and we can win this national championship for him.”
Harter knows what it feels like to win it all. He came to Arkansas from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, where in 11 years his teams won 13 NCAA Division II national championships (eight in cross country and five in outdoor track) and one outdoor track title as members of the the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which sponsored women’s sports before the NCAA assumed control.
“Lance had athletes at a Division II school who could hold their own against Division I athletes,” Lewis said. “He was respected by everyone in the track and field world.”
Harter’s accomplishments at Cal Poly drew attention from bigger schools, but the native of Pacifica, Calif., turned down offers from UCLA, Southern Cal and Tennessee.
“Those are all great jobs, but they just weren’t the right fit for me,” Harter said. “It turned out Arkansas was the fit for me.”
Harter eventually accepted Lewis’ offer for a combination of reasons, most notably the comfort level he felt working for an athletic director who had been a cross country and track coach as well as the success John McDonnell had as coach of Arkansas’ men’s program, which he led to 40 national championships.
“We really had it rolling at Cal-Poly,” Harter said. “I was comfortable there, but I needed a new challenge and Arkansas provided that, and with a lot of resources we didn’t have at the NCAA Division II level.
“I’ve been absolutely elated being here all these years.”
Scott, Arkansas’ school record-holder in the mile (4:32.48) and 3,000 (8:52.57), said a key to Harter’s success is his ability to coach athletes as individuals.
“He doesn’t treat his athletes like one big group,” she said. “He individualizes his coaching and training to all the different personalities and the needs of everyone. That’s how he gets us to perform so well.”
Harter said his assistant coaches, Bryan Compton (field events) and Chris Johnson (sprints), are the gold standard in their specialties.
“I’ve been around other head coaches that want to see all your workouts, but Lance has never done that,” said Compton, in his 16th year at Arkansas. “He always says we’re the head coaches of our own events. We work on the scholarship stuff together and figure out who can do what for the team.”
Harter will turn 65 on April 15, but he has no intention of retiring. He said at the minimum he wants to coach five more years to help Arkansas athletes who will be competing for spots in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
“I still look forward to going to work every day.” Harter said. “As long as I have that energy and passion for the job and have good health, I’m going stay with it.”