EASTERN PREPARES FOR CHILE PEPPER INVITATIONAL

The Eastern New Mexico cross country teams travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete at the Chile Pepper Invitational on Friday, Oct. 1. The women’s program will start with the College Women’s 5k run beginning at 5:00 p.m. local time (4:00 MST), with the men’s program racing in the McDonnell Memorial College Men’s 8k race starting at 5:30 p.m. local time (4:30 MST).

LAST TIME OUT

Eastern return to the course after competing at ACU Naimadu Classic, where the women’s program placed third of eight teams, while the men’s team finished in fifth of eight programs. Kelvin Kipkemboi highlighted the men’s field clocking the second fastest time on the 8K course, 24:56.7. Additionally, Japhet Toroitich (11^th) and Sylvestre Kibara (24^th) finished with times of 26:06.4 and 26:58.9, respectively. Aminata Kenyawani finished in seventh on the 5K course with a time of 23:19.6. Dorcas Kosgei (23:19.6) placed 13^th, while Neri Getraide (16^th, 24:02.2) and Marta Pascoa (20^th, 24:11.3) finished in the top-20 for the Hounds.

THE COURSE

The Hounds will be running at Argi Park, located on the north side of campus at the University of Arkansas. The course is a combination of grass, cinder and uneven terrain. Argi Park is versatile to host numerous events at different distances and has hosted high profile events such as the SEC Championship and NCAA Championship.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Across all four colligate races, over 1000 entries are expected to run the course. Between the four races, over 75 institutions will compete in Fayetteville. The Greyhounds will represent the Lone Star Conference along with St. Edward’s, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-International, UA-Fort Smith, and UT-Tyler. St. Edward’s and Texas A&M-International will be running in the same heat as Eastern.