The Northwest Missouri State men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas Friday evening. The women placed 11^th overall and the men came in 27^th.

"Our two focuses for today were execution and effort," said Coach Wick Cunningham. "We wanted to push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and we did just that."

Leading the way for the women was Caroline Cunningham with a time of 17:15.2 coming in 19^th overall. Amber Owens was the second women's finisher (17:32.1, 35^th). Both Cunningham and Owens broke the previous school record of 17:33 which had been held since 1996. Nearly every runner on the women's side ran a personal best at the meet.

The women beat out Division I schools such as Oakland, Missouri State, Stephen F. Austin, Houston, Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Little Rock, UT-Arlington, UL-Monroe, and Oral Roberts.

Northwest Missouri Women's 5K Finishers
19. Caroline Cunningham – 17:15.2
35. Amber Owens – 17:32.1
67. Alyna Thibault – 17:59.4
93. Lydia McGlocklin – 18:21.6
165. Cora Blaue – 19:09.1
178. Tori Castle – 19:15.9
180. Whitney Post – 19:17.4
201. Amanda Seggerman – 19:30.7

Women's Team Results

1. Arkansas – 29 points
2. Southern Miss – 129 points
3. Dallas Baptist – 136 points
4. Oklahoma – 159 points
5. Kansas State – 208 points
6. Arkansas State – 220 points
7. Nebraska-Kearney – 225 points
8. CSU-Pueblo – 250 points
9. Abilene Christian – 304 points
10. Belmont – 322 points
11. Northwest Missouri – 335 points
12. Oakland – 369 points
13. Missouri Southern – 374 points
14. Missouri State – 376 points
15. Stephen F. Austin – 412 points

The men were led by Drew Atkins who finished in 53^rd overall with a time of 24:53.1. Following him was Jake Norris (25:40.6, 138^th). The third Bearcat finisher was Austin Goetsche (26:03.2, 171^st).

Northwest Missouri Men's 8K Finishers
53. Drew Atkins – 24:53.1
138. Jake Norris – 25:40.6
171. Austin Goetsche – 26:03.2
173. Trevor Ramsdell – 26:03.5
192. Riley Witt – 26:25.3
245. Carson Lauterbach – 26:59.3
253. Yemane Kifle – 27:04.7
308. Ryan Campbell – 28:40.1

Men's Team Results

1. Arkansas – 61 points
2. Colby CC – 149 points
3. Missouri Southern – 157 points
4. Iowa Central CC – 166 points
5. Kansas State – 177 points
6. Mississippi College – 184 points
7. Nebraska-Kearney – 215 points
8. Arkansas State – 244 points
9. East Central – 255 points
10. CSU-Pueblo – 322 points
11. Belmont – 412 points
12. Oakland – 416 points
13. Tarleton State – 458 points
14. Central Arkansas – 472 points
15. Stephen F. Austin – 474 points