FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The ULM cross country teams battled valiantly Saturday morning at the 26th Annual Chile Pepper Festival held at the Chile Pepper Running Club.
The men finished 17th overall while the women took 18th.
Senior Hillary Kirwa led the charge with a 26:08.8 time in the 8K race. He finished 128 out of 429 competitors and beat out his time of 26:32.1 score from last season in the meet. Close behind, sophomore Vinnie Van Puyvelde turned in a time of 26:13.9 to place 134th.
The Warhawks also garnered a pair of top-235 finishes in freshman James Turner at 27:05.3 and sophomores Brent Turner at 27:09.5. Sophomore Jonathan Jeffcoat tallied ULM's fifth score of 27:38.9 to take 275th.
ULM's top male competitor on the season, sophomore Dusan Makevic, did not run due to a foot injury precaution.
For the women, junior Rebecca Dark crossed the finish line first for the Warhawks with a 5K time of 19:29.4 to take 219th. It crushed her 2013 time of 20:11.6. Freshmen Kristin Cave and Josie Wood also registered top-300 times of 19:56.2 and 20:22.1, respectively.
The Warhawks will take next weekend off of competition before returning to action on Friday, Oct. 17 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., at the Crimson Classic.
Men's Results (8K)
128. Hillary Kirwa, 26:08.8
134. Vinnie Van Puyvelde, 26:13.9
226. James Turner, 27:05.3
233. Brent Turner, 27:09.5
275. Jonathan Jeffcoat, 27:38.9
390. Lane Perilloux, 29:56.6
400. Chris Silva, 30:19.5
Women's Results (5K)
219. Rebecca Dark, 19:29.4
264. Kristin Cave, 19:56.2
297. Josie Wood, 20:22.1
310. Anakaren Lopez, 20:40.8
346. Brittany Garrison, 21:50.6
357. Rebecca Fontenot, 22:20.7
