By OAKLEE FIELDER
Women’s cross country finished 4th and the men finished 24th in Arkansas for the Chile Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas.
Reshila Curley was the top Lady Ranger in Arkansas out of 222 runners. Curley finished 22nd with a time of 19:07. Jessica Myers was the second-best Northwestern runner as she finished 41st with a time of 19:41.
Senior Cadence Long-Torres finished 48th with a time of 19:49. Emilia Ceniceros and Ava Washington finished next to each other in 75th and 76th. Ceniceros had a time of 20:27 and Washington had a time of 20:28.
Ana Rojas was not far behind Ceniceros and Washington. Rojas finished 79th with a time of 20:31. Ivy Washington finished 90th with a time of 20:45. In 108th was Jaidyn Frantz with a time of 21:05. Camila Espore had a time of 21:09, putting her in 114th.
Milana Jackson finished 151st with a time of 22:22. Grace Stark finished in 168th with a time of 22:58. Reina Gonzales finished in 175th with a time of 23:22.
The men didn’t have as good of a race as the women as they finished 24th out of 26.
Riley Herndon was the best Ranger in the Chile Pepper Festival as he finished 68th with a time of 25:51.
Andrew Scott was the second Ranger to cross the finish line. Scott had a time of 26:23, putting him in 107th. Coy Bullard finished 129th with a time of 26:41.
Freshman Matthew Manning finished in 189th with a time of 27:56. Fellow freshman Brayden Cowan finished 196th with a time of 28:11. Tristan Meeker finished 211th with a time of 28:38. Donald Kosgei and Boyd Hamby finished hip to hip. Kosgei was 219th with a time of 28:55. Hamby finished 220th with a time of 28:57.
Daxton Williams finished 225th with a time of 29:00. Kaleb Madden finished 242nd with a time of 29:46. Seth Crouse and Joseph Kollar finished together in 250th and 251st with times of 30:16.
Boomer Mendenhall and Johnny Rushing were another duo of Rangers that finished together. They finished 257th and 258th. Mendenhall finished 31:10 and Rushing finished a second behind.
Next on the schedule for the NWOSU cross country teams will be in Texas. The Dallas Baptist University for the Old Glory Gallop in Fort Worth, Texas on Oct 17. After this meet will be the Great American Conference race in Shawnee on Nov 7.