FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The UT Arlington cross country teams competed at the 35th running of the Chile Pepper Festival on Friday afternoon at Agri Park near the campus of the University of Arkansas.
Out of 35 teams and a little over 300 runners, the women had nobody finish below the 200 mark for their best overall team finish ever at the Chile Pepper, running to a fourth place finish with 169 points. The men battled through and finished 20th with 488 points.
Reigning WAC Athlete of the Week,
Matro Jepkemboi, led the way for the Lady Mavericks with a sixth place finish to earn a spot on the podium. Posting a time of 17:03.30, she shaved nearly 20 seconds off her previous times on her way to a new collegiate personal best.
Mercy Biwott finished 26th overall with a time of 17:43.50 for a new UTA personal best.
Winnie Kipsang finished 37th with a mark of 18:00.10 with
Lauren Walls-Portillo placing 49th with a time of 18:13.60.
Isabel Borrego rounded out the top five finishers for the women, clocking in at 18:25.00 for a 61st place finish.
"I'm very proud of our women and how they battled today in unfavorable conditions for our highest ever finish at the Chile Pepper," said Head Coach John Sauerhage. "Matro ran a gutsy race, as did our entire team, in 90 degrees plus weather. We can still get better and I'm excited to see this team compete in October and November."
On the men's side, the team had to battle through an illness that kept the likes of
Josue Granados and
Brandon Wilk out of the lineup.
"Several of our guys battled through sickness and a challenging field, but we will regroup and get ready for the Arturo Barrios Invitational in two weeks," said Sauerhage.
Patrick Estes led the way for the Mavs, clocking in with a time of 25:32.00 to finish 61st overall.
Brian Guevara finished 81st with a time of 25:51.10 while
Jackson Cichon came in 108th with a time of 26:14.00. Rounding out the top five finishers for the Mavs was Andres Gurrola, who came in 132nd with a time of 26:35.30, and
Jacob Freeman coming in 147th with a mark of 26:45.30.
NEXT UP
The Mavs will be off next week but return to action the following week on October 13 as they travel to College Station to compete in the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M.
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).
