FAYETTEVILLE, AR – Both the men's and women's cross country programs competed on Friday evening in the Chili Pepper Invitational. The men came away with a 27
th place finish and the women finished in 14
th position.
The Patriots women placed 14
th out of a 30 team field. Their total team placement score was 341, placing them 47 points and two positions above conference foe Texas A&M-Commerce. Just 15 points separated the women's program from a place in the top 11.
Leading the way for the women was redshirt junior
Natasha Carcano. Carcano would run a time of 19:17.0 in the 5K to finish in 13
th place overall. She would finish the first mile in 22
nd, before making up seven places by the halfway point of the race.
Freshman
Calista Segura would finish her 5K in 20:06.6 which would be good enough for a 36
th place finish. Segura started strong, crossing the one mile mark in 23
rd position right behind Carcano, but would slip back to 36
th by the halfway point of the race.
Rounding out the scoring for the Patriots women was
Mason Fleming,
Marissa Agee, and
Nicolette Esparza.
Fleming would finish the 5K race in a time of 21:14.6 for a placement score of 85. Agee and Esparza would finish just eight seconds apart, with Agee running a 21:34.6 and Esparza running a 21:42.9. The pair would finish with placement scores of 99 and 108, respectively.
On the men's side of the contest, the Patriots would finish 27
th in a field of 36. Their team placement score of 669 was 109 points ahead of conference foe Texas A&M International. Just 50 points ahead was another conference competitor in St. Edward's.
Leading the way for the Patriots men was redshirt freshman
Angel Contreras with a final time of 25:28.6 in the 8K race to finish in 61
st place. After the first mile, Contreras was all the way back in 206
th place before picking up an amazing 107 places by the halfway mark.
Jack Gipson would make his season debut for the Patriots and come in second on the team. Gipson would run a time of 25:58.7 to finish in 96
th position. After crossing the mile marker, Gipson sat in 196
th before climbing 71 spots by the halfway point of the race.
Rounding out the scoring for the Patriots men was
Landon Thornton,
Antonio Chavez, and
Kalen Barlow.
Thornton finished up his race with a time of 26:43.6 and that would net him a placement score of 151. Finishing just under nine seconds behind was Chavez, with a time of 26:54.2. That time would end in a placement score of 165. Barlow finished with a placement score of 196 after running the 8K in 27:28.4.
The complete list of Patriots competitors can be found below.
Women's Results
Next up for both programs will be the Mississippi College/ Watson Invitational. That will be their last meet before the Lone Star Conference Championships on Oct. 30.
