Fayetteville, AR – After a weekend off, the Bobcat and Lady Cat Cross Country teams traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete in the Chile Pepper Festival, one of the largest events of the season. Approaching the midway point in the season, the Cats and the Lady Cats were looking to catch their stride.

The Lady Cats posted a strong showing, coming in 4th place in the 5k Prairie Team division. Posting a total time of 1:43:56, they placed just 40 seconds behind Missouri S&T. Sophomore Keena Goze continues to improve as she led the charge and ran a season-best 19:34.9, landing her at 15th place in a field of 188 runners. Senior Trinity Sadosky followed closely behind, finishing with a time of 19:41.3 and placing 17th. Freshman Emilie Zylstra (season-best 20:51.8) and senior Sarah Alferink (21:38.5) followed. Gracie Gatton, Tia Bethards, Gracie Vestal, and Aryssa Speights all beat their best times, finishing with 22:10.3, 22:21.6, 22:52.1, and 24:24.8, respectively. The Lady Cats collectively put up seven personal-bests on the season.

The Bobcats placed 11th in the 8k Prairie Team division. Junior Tanner Bailey put together another great performance, coming in 3rd place out of over 200 runners with a time of 26:31.4. Freshman Jack Lawson ran a time of 28:26.3, placing 41st. Juniors Alex Frizzell and Drew Rose ran times of 30:19.1 and 30:23.4 respectively. Sophomore Gabe Whitman ran a season-best time of 30:38.4, and Junior Eric Burns finished closely behind with a time of 30:58.3. Sophomore Caleb Fewin finished in 31:07.0, and freshman Brady Rose ran a season-best 32:43.6. Freshman Cooper Miller finished in 34:51.1.

The Cats and the Lady Cats showed great improvement at the Chile Pepper Festival, and they look to continue to improve over the course of the season. The next Cross-Country meet will take place on October 12, as the squads head to the Haskell Indian Nations University Invitational.