Cruz places first at the Chile Pepper Festival in Arkansas
Competing in the Prairie Section of the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Saturday in Fayetteville, AR, Cowley College sophomore Miquel Cruz won the men’s 8K race with a time of 25:51. Cruz helped the Tiger men place fifth out of 25 teams at the meet, while the Lady Tigers finished sixth out of 23 schools.
Competing in the Prairie Section of the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Saturday in Fayetteville, AR, Cowley College sophomore Miquel Cruz won the men's 8K race with a time of 25:51. Cruz helped the Tiger men place fifth out of 25 teams at the meet, while the Lady Tigers finished sixth out of 23 schools.
Cruz finished 28.8 seconds faster than runner-up Gary Mata of the University of West Alabama.
"Miquel did not run a personal best, but he looked really strong and pretty much led from the start." Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said.
The University of Texas at Dallas men's team placed first at the meet, while Northwest Arkansas Community College finished second.
Cowley freshman Esteban Boisseau ran a personal best time of 27:04.4 and finished 10th in the men's race, while sophomores Manuel Leos (28:32.5) and Deshawn Douglas (28:35.7) finished 46th and 47th, respectively.
Freshmen Conner Walker (29:19.7, 70th place) and Eli Roberts (30:26.4) also ran well and placed 70th and 103rd out of 220 runners in the men's race.
On the women's side, the College of St. Mary finished 28 points in front of runner-up Butler Community College to take home the women's team title. Running unattached, Emina Alagic won the women's 5K race with a time of 17:29.7.
Sophomores Lili-Rose Breheret (20:07.04) and Savannah Fischer (20:15.9) led the Lady Tigers by placing 26th and 27th out of 189 runners in the 5K race.
"Lili and Savannah both ran personal bests," Rieth said. "It was also good to see Kayli Myers (21:38.3, 61st) and Marianna Lozano Cardenas (22:27.7, 89th) debut on the season. I think Kayli was just being conservative and testing her hip."
Pauline Althoff (21:33.7, 60th place) rounded out Lady Tiger runners at the meet.
"Despite the temperature and wind picking up a little bit, overall, it was our best showing so far this season," Rieth said.
The Tiger cross country teams will now prepare to host the Tiger Preview at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, at the Kansas Veterans' Home in Winfield, KS.