Hillcats Pace the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival
Christi Dougherty finished second among Hillcat runners at the Chile Pepper Festival (photo by Candid Color Photography). FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a field full of NCAA Division I teams from around the region the Rogers State cross country teams trekked the Chile Pepper Festival course hosted by the University of Arkansas Saturday.
The RSU women finished 32nd as a team in the 43 team field while the Hillcat men finished 32nd as well. Coach Chris McCormick’s women squad finished with an average time of 25:19 in the 6K run as the men averaged 35:14.08 for the 10K.
Brenda Felipe led the Hillcat women with a time of 23:19.4 to finish 117th freshman Christi Dougherty finished 205 with a time of 24:40.6. Maria Apolinar crossed with a time of 24:54.4 for 223.
Just seconds later freshman Haley Taylor posted a time of 25:07.4 and a 235th place finish while Natalie Iwamoto came in 321st with a time of 28:33.2.
RSU women finished eight points ahead of NCAA Division I Louisiana-Lafayette as the Ragin’ Cajuns finished in 33rd. The Cats finished five spots ahead of Oral Roberts University.
Host Arkansas claimed the team title as the Lady Razorbacks top five runners all finished in the top 20 individually. Oklahoma’s Jess Engel won the individual crown with a time of 20:42.1 ahead of Oklahoma State’s Monika Juodeskaite as the Cowgirl crossed in 20:54.3.
Oscar Reyes set the pace for the Hillcat men’s team as the junior finished in 199th with a time of 34:22.5 in the 10K race. Chandler Smith finished 237th for the Cats crossing in 34.54.5 while Garrett Dyson wasn’t far behind with a time of 35:05.6 for 244th.
Marcus Trevino crossed next for the Hillcats posting a time of 35:47.3 for 263rd while Brandon Payne rounded out the Hillcat five crossing in 36:00.5 and a 269th place finish.
RSU finished ahead of host Arkansas as the Razorbacks finished 34rd, 46 points behind the Hillcats. The Cats finished just nine points behind 31st place Southern Nazarene as RSU posted a better average time then the Crimson Storm.
Oklahoma State claimed the team title with five runners finishing in the top six and all seven runners placing in the top 11. Texas Tech finished 89 points behind the Cowboys as the Red Raiders claimed second ahead of Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.
Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka won the individual title finishing nearly two minutes ahead of OSU’s Girma Mecheso.
Rogers State travels to Winfield, Kan. for the NAIA Mid-States Classic at Southwestern College Oct. 20.
