Cross Country Set For Chile Pepper Festival
10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 14, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU men's and women's cross country programs will close regular season action this Saturday at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.
Start time for the men's 10K is set for 9:45 a.m., while the women's 6K will follow at 10:30 a.m. The festival, which is in its 21st year, will host approximately 3,500 runners and over 4,000 spectators at the University of Arkansas Cross Country Course.
Overall, the festival features an amateur, collegiate, high school and junior high division. Collegiate teams competing this weekend include Arkansas, Baylor, BYU, Kansas State, LSU, Missouri, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas Tech, Utah, Wyoming and several others.
"We are hoping to have everybody healthy this weekend," said distance coach Shawn Winget. "It's our last meet before the MWC, so we have to get after it. This weekend is our first 10k and 6k, so it will be a new experience for the freshmen."
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this Saturday's meet in Fayetteville can follow it by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. Results and a full recap will be posted following the women's race.
Chile Pepper Festival History
TCU has had some success in past years at the Chile Pepper Festival and will look to continue that tradition this weekend.
In 2008, Festus Kigen posted the Frogs highest finish in the event during this era, topping the Horned Frog lineup with a 10th-place finish for the second-consecutive season. The women's top finisher came in 2002 when TCU great Mary Kinyanjui captured individual runner-up honors, leading the TCU women's cross country program to a seventh-place finish among 37 schools competing at the Chile Pepper. A year later, Kinyanjui turned in a fourth-place individual finish with a time of 20:37.08.
TCU Entering Fayetteville
Entering this weekend, the TCU women have been paced by newcomers Tricia Terry and Agnes Kemboi. Behind Terry and Kemboi, fellow freshman Katie Dalton has finished second amongst Frog runners during the three meets.
On the men's side, Louis Tijerina and Jeff Pels have led the TCU attack, while freshmen Douglas Moore and Dave Emerson have followed in third and fourth-place, respectively, in the last outing.
Women Continue In Regional Rankings
The TCU women's cross country team enters this weekend ranked in the top 15 of the South Central Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The TCU women are currently ranked No. 10 in the South Central Region. Overall, the Purple and White have been ranked in the regional top 10 for three-straight weeks.
Last Time Out
In a field that featured several nationally ranked programs, the TCU men's and women's cross country teams finished 23rd and 15th overall, respectively, at the 73rd running of the Cowboy Jamboree.
Freshman Agnes Kemboi led the TCU women in the 5K race, crossing the finish line in 42nd-place in her first collegiate outing, while fellow freshman Katie Dalton followed in 99th out of 211 competitors at the OSU Cross Country Course.
On the men's side, Louis Tijerina, a Brownsville native, finished 140th overall out of 245 competitors with a personal-best time, while junior Jeff Pels followed in 154th-place.
Last Year In Fayetteville
Festus Kigen finished 10th overall to lead the TCU men and women's cross country program at the 2008 version of the Chile Pepper Festival.
Kigen, a junior from Kenya, crossed the finish line in 10th-place with a seasonal-best time of 29:44.11, while sophomore Jeff Pels placed 122nd overall out of 257 competitors.
On the women's side, Tanja Ivandic, who led the Purple and White for the eighth-consecutive meet, clocked a seasonal-best time of 22:08.01 to finish in 53rd-place at the University of Arkansas cross country course.
Up Next
The Horned Frogs will next be in action on Oct. 31 at the 2009 Mountain West Conference Championships in Ogden, Utah.
Players Mentioned
