Cross country teams heat up in Ark.

The men’s team took 10th and the women’s team finished eighth Saturday, at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. The invite included D-I, D-II, and NAIA schools.

The Chile Pepper Festival was co-founded by CSC President Randy Rhine in 1988.

“As a team we certainly did better than the past years,” Phill Duncan, sophomore of Chadron, said. “Both the boys’ and the girls’ teams made top 10 in our divisions, and we beat some D-I teams.”

The men’s 8K started at approximately 9:45 a.m. Four hundred sixty-six athletes combined to run the race. Colorado School of Mines blew away the competition finishing with 44 points. Pittsburg State University earned second place with 125 points.

Junior Dylan Stansbury, of Crawford, led the CSC men’s 332-point finish in a time of 24:55.99, in 19th place. Evans Koech, senior of Nairobi, Kenya, placed 30th in 25:21.75. Sophomore Levi Avila, of Mitchell, finished in 26:19.27, putting him in 77th. Duncan, placed 92nd in 26:43.61, followed by sophomore Eric Yager of Hot Springs, South Dakota, in 114th with a time of 27:07.80.   

Kyle Dietsch, junior of Sheridan, Wyoming, placed 120th in a time of 27:12.06, and Taylor Dick, freshman of Douglas, Wyoming, complete the race in 134th with his time of 27:28.67.

Around 10:20 a.m. the women’s race shot off. Four hundred thirty-six women took off the starting line, and University of Arkansas’ Dominque Scott, redshirt senior of Capetown, South Africa, finished first, with a time of 16:07.18. The second place finisher, also of the University of Arkansas, Devin Clark, freshman of Spring Branch, Texas, crossed the line in 16:28.56.

The University of Montevallo, Alabama, won the women’s division, with 92 points. Second place went to Colorado School of Mines, with 119 points.

The CSC women’s team finished eighth out of 33 small school teams, scoring 230 points. Senior Rebecca Volf, of Wood River, led the team with her 18:07.35 finish in 19th place. Junior Nicky Banzhaf, of Chadron, was right on Volf’s heels in 20th with a six-hundredths of a second time difference in 18:07.41.

Alyse Henry, freshman of Rock Springs, Wyoming, was 47th in 18:36.55. Senior Jayme Nunes, of Alliance, finished 62nd with her time of 18:44.68, and Maggie Vinton, sophomore of North Platte, placed 82nd, in 19:04.48.

Other Eagles to run at Fayetteville were Sandra Palayo, junior of Cozad, coming in 83rd with a time of 19:05.86, and senior Sarah Townsend, of Douglas, Wyoming, in 145th with her 20:21.54 finish.

The Eagles will run at the RMAC Championships Oct. 24 at Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado.

According to the RMAC website, six men’s teams in the RMAC are ranked in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Coaches Poll.  Colorado School of Mines is currently ranked third in the nation with 187 points; Adams State University is fourth with 177; with 134 points, Western State Colorado University is in 10th place; New Mexico Highlands  University holds the 11th spot; Black Hills State University earned the 20th spot with 51 points.

The Adams State women’s team is ranked second in the nation with 194 points; Western is sixth with 152, Colorado Mines is 18th and UCCA is 22nd with 59 points and 26, respectively.