FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce cross country teams went up against some of the most elite competition in the country at the Chile Pepper Festival on Friday afternoon at Agri Park.
 
MEN
Competing in the McDonnell Memorial 8-kilometer race against some of the top Division I programs in the country, the Lion men placed 29^th among 33 teams. The Lions' top finisher was once again Alex Speer (Robinson), timing 25:08.5 to place 76^th. Tanner Townsend (Royse City) clocked in a time of 25:37.3, Casey Novelo (Burleson – Trinity) had a time of 25:58.7.
 
Nicholas Deutsch (Frisco) recorded a time of 26:17.5, Ace Garcia (Burleson) finished just behind Deustsch with a time of 26:57.7. Chris Flores (Rocksprings) touched the finish line 0.3 seconds after Garcia, timing 26:58. Mason White (Argyle) posted a time of 27:17.2, Joshua Schutter (Rowlett – Sachse) had a time of 27:39.6, Tristen Sabin (Frisco – Independence) timed 28:24.8 and Yosef Abdulrazeq (Mansfield Legacy) timed 28:44.1.
 
Arkansas ran away with the team championship, finishing with 61 points, which was 88 points better than the runner-up, Colby Community College, who had the individual champion. Sanele Masondo won the race with a time of 23:18.4.
 
WOMEN
The Lion women competing in the 5-kilometer open race, faced off against primarily NCAA Division II and NJCAA schools as well as select Division I schools, finishing 19^th out of 34 teams. Faith Biwott finished 63^rd with a time of 19:58, followed by Alondra Campa (Kaufman), placing 68^th with a time of 20:07.
 
Bailey Neal (Sulphur Bluff) timed 20:43.6 to place 102^nd, Nour Almasri (Mansfield Summit) clocked in at 21:33.2 to place 130^th. Evelyn Brown (Paris) timed 21:50.4 and Elizabeth Ibarra timed 22:39.3.
 
Missouri S&T won the race as a team with a score of 155 points, five ahead of St. Edward's. Colby Community College's Emily Diercks finished first with a time of 17:17.1.
 
UP NEXT
The Lions have just one more race on the schedule prior to the Southland Conference Championships and it comes in College Station on October 15 at the Arturo Barrios Invitational.