Braelyn Combe earns SEC Runner & Freshman of the Week honors

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas freshman Braelyn Combe won her first collegiate cross country race in dramatic fashion at the Chile Pepper Festival and earned a pair of conference honors as she was named SEC Runner of the Week as well as SEC Freshman of the Week for her performance.

Covering the 5,000m course at Agri Park in 15:59.0, Combe registered the third fastest time ever in the history of the meet. Combe won the race by one tenth of a second on her final stride as she charged to the finish and closed the gap to the leader over the final 500m.

UT Arlington sophomore Dorcas Jepkosgei, who led Combe by 11 seconds at the 3.5k split, raised her hands to celebrate in the final five meters of the race which enabled Combe to pass her for the victory. Jepkosgei finished second in 15:59.1.

The effort by Combe produced the fastest freshman time on the course as she bettered a 16:09.4 set in 2023 by Razorback Paityn Noe, who shares the course record of 15:56.3 with Mia Cochran from the 2024 race.

As a freshman in the 2025 Chile Pepper Festival, Jepkosgei finished as runner-up in 16:09.5 to Razorback Sydney Vaught, who won the race in 16:03.0.

This is the second SEC weekly honor for the Arkansas women’s team. Isca Chelangat earned SEC Runner of the Week following her individual title at the Gans Creek Classic.

The Razorback women return to action on Friday, October 16, as they compete in the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M, who will also host the NCAA South Central Region meet on Friday, November 13.