Cross Country Ready For Chile Pepper Festival
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 15, 2010
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU cross country program 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 5K will follow at 10:30 a.m. The festival, which is in its 22nd year, will host approximately 4,000 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. Several ranked teams will be in competition this weekend, including No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Indiana, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 21 Tulsa on the men's side. On the women's side, No. 21 Tulsa, No. 24 Indiana, No. 25 Arkansas and No. 28 Oklahoma State will all take to the course Saturday.
"We have had some really good training sessions and are anxious to compete after two open weeks," said distance coach Shawn Winget. "On the women's side, we should have both Amanda and Paige back, which should really help us. Festus has been training very well as well and I am excited to see his improvement over the past three weeks."
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this Saturday's meet at Arkansas can follow it by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. Results and a full recap will be posted following the conclusion of the women's race.
A Look Back At The Chile Pepper Festival History
TCU has fared well in past years at the Chile Pepper Festival. In 2008, now senior Festus Kigen recorded the Horned Frogs highest finish in the event during this era, crossing the finish line in 10th-place. The Kenya native also placed 10th overall during the 2007 Chile Pepper.
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 in Fayetteville. A year later, Kinyanjui turned in a fourth-place individual finish with a time of 20:37.08.
Last Year At The Chile Pepper
The TCU women's cross country team finished 12th overall out of 34 teams at the 21st running of the Chile Pepper Festival. Freshman Agnes Kemboi had a solid day at the Arkansas Cross Country Course, clocking a personal and seasonal-best time of 22:21.55 to finish 48th overall. Overall, the women's team totaled 388 points to finish ahead of LSU, McNeese State, Mississippi State, Utah, Wyoming and several others. On the men's side, the Frogs posted 709 points for a 26th-place showing in 2009.
Kigen Ready For Chile Pepper Festival
After opening his senior season posting a 12th-place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree, Festus Kigen will look to continue an impressive streak of top 10 finishes in Fayetteville this weekend. Overall, Kigen has finished within the top 10 at the Chile Pepper Festival three-straight years. The Kenya native's last trip to the University of Arkansas produced his first All-America certificate at the 2010 NCAA Indoor Championships. Kigen cruised to a sixth-place finish in the men's 5,000 meters, crossing the finish line with a personal-best and new school record time of 13:50.21. By placing sixth overall, Kigen became the first Horned Frog in TCU history to earn All-American accolades in the men's 5,000 meters.
Kemboi Shining For TCU Women
Sophomore Agnes Kemboi crossed the finish line in third-place during her last outing at the historic Cowboy Jamboree. By placing third overall at the OSU Cross Country Course, Kemboi recorded the highest finish on the women's side in Stillwater since former Horned Frog great Glady's Keitany won the Cowboy Jamboree title in 2000. Overall, the Kenya native has now placed within the top 10 three-straight meets, including first overall at the UTA Season Opener.
Horned Frogs Stay Put In Regional Rankings
After opening the season No. 11, the TCU men's cross country team enters this weekend ranked in the top-10 of the South Central Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The men will head to the Chile Pepper Festival ranked No. 10 in the region.
On the women's side, TCU remains at No. 9 in the South Central Region. The No. 9 ranking is the highest ranking on the women's side since opening the 2009 season at No. 8 overall.
TCU Prominent On Mountain West Conference Top-Times List
Agnes Kemboi, who sits No. 4 overall in the women's 6K in the Mountain West Conference, currently leads the MWC this fall in the women's 4K after her third-place season opening performance. Freshman Amanda Throckmorton is ranked second overall on the MWC top-times list for the 4K. Tricia Terry also sits within the top 5 in the conference, ranking No. 4 overall.
On the men's side, Jeff Pels heads into this weekend as the No. 2 ranked runner in the men's 6K. He is followed by freshman Jake Rossmango, who sits No. 4 in the MWC.
Last Time Out
Sophomore Agnes Kemboi crossed the finish line in third-place to lead the TCU women's cross country team to a sixth-place showing in the final team standings at the historic Cowboy Jamboree. As a team, the TCU women posted its highest finish at the Cowboy Jamboree under distance coach Shawn Winget and the highest finish overall since 2006 with 179 points. On the men's side, the Horned Frogs placed 11th overall with 265 points.
Up Next
TCU will open postseason action at the 2010 MWC Cross Country Championships in Laramie, Wyo., on Friday, Oct. 29.
Players Mentioned
