FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – College of the Ozarks cross country turned in a strong showing at the 2026 Chile Pepper XC Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Agri Park in Fayetteville. The Lady Cats placed fourth in the Women’s Prairie Fire Pepper 5K, while the Bobcats finished seventh in the Men’s Prairie Fire Pepper 8K.

Senior Keena Goze led the way for the Lady Cats with an impressive top-five performance. Goze covered the 5K course in 18:22.6, finishing fifth overall and scoring fourth among team competitors. She helped College of the Ozarks finish with 158 points, just four points behind third-place Missouri Western. Arkansas Tech won the 22-team race with 38 points, followed by Saint Mary (Neb.) with 86 and Missouri Western with 154.

Tia Bethards was the second Lady Cat across the line, placing 21st overall in 19:07.0. Emilie Zylstra followed closely behind with a time of 19:14.7, good for 25th overall. Freshman Khloe Clemence added a strong performance in 19:59.2, finishing 56th.

Ella Howard completed the scoring five for College of the Ozarks with a time of 20:20.7, placing 72nd overall. Aryssa Speights finished in 21:51.0, while Gracie Vestal rounded out the Lady Cats' top seven in 22:05.7. The Lady Cats' top five combined for a total time of 1:37:05 and an average of 19:25. The race featured 222 finishers.

On the men's side, sophomore Nolyn Corder delivered a standout performance to lead the Bobcats. Corder finished seventh overall in the 8K race with a time of 26:08.5, putting College of the Ozarks in strong position early in the team standings.

Junior Carson Knight gave the Bobcats a second runner near the front of the field, finishing 22nd overall in 27:07.1. Landon Jones was next across the line for College of the Ozarks, placing 50th in 27:54.7, followed by Cody Henderson, who finished 62nd in 28:23.4. Ethan Howard completed the Bobcats' scoring five with an 83rd-place finish in 29:02.7.

Trayden Bailey finished sixth for the Bobcats in 30:45.7, while Michael Kincaid rounded out the team's top seven in 30:57.6. College of the Ozarks totaled 209 points to finish seventh among 22 scoring teams. The Bobcats' top five combined for a time of 2:18:36.4, averaging 27:43.28 per runner.

Missouri Baptist captured the men's team title with 87 points, followed by Iowa Central Community College with 111 and Indian Hills Community College with 120. The Bobcats finished only five points behind sixth-place LeTourneau and five points ahead of eighth-place Kansas Running Club.

College of the Ozarks leaves Fayetteville with top-seven team finishes on both sides, highlighted by top-10 individual performances from Goze and Corder and a fourth-place team showing by the Lady Cats.