Razorbacks eager to race on home course at Chile Pepper

FAYETTEVILLE – No. 3 nationally ranked Arkansas races at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday in the McDonnell Memorial 8k at Agri Park among a field of 24 teams in this Chile Pepper Festival race.

“This meet kicks off the fall for us with cross country,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “We’ve been training all summer and in the past six weeks as a team. Usually this is the kick-off for our racing season.

“For us this meet is a little like a bowl game atmosphere. There are a lot of people at the meet and with the spectators it’s got some energy and a vibe to it. This is always a special meet. It’s a great atmosphere for a great cause and it’s for our sport.”

All of the Saturday races in the Chile Pepper Festival will be available on a free live stream through Runnerspace.com at this link: 2024 Chile Pepper Festival. Live results are available through Flashresults.com at this link: Chile Pepper results.

Teams competing in the McDonnell Memorial 8,000m race include Alabama – Huntsville, Arkansas – Pine Bluff, Butler (Kan.) CC, CSU Pueblo, Crowder (Mo.), Dallas Baptist, East Central (Ok.), Garden City (Kan.) CC, Harding, Hutchinson (Kan.) CC, Iowa Central CC, Jacksonville State, LSU, Missouri S&T, Oklahoma Baptist, Park (Mo.), Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, Texas A&M – Commerce, Texas Southern, UC Santa Barbara, UMSL, and Western Colorado.

Among Division II national rankings, East Central is No. 3 with Western Colorado No. 8 and CSU Pueblo No. 14. In NJCAA national rankings, Iowa Central is No. 3, Butler No. 4, Crowder No. 6, and Hutchinson equal No. 9.

A year ago Kirami Yego and Ben Shearer finished 1-2 in the Chile Pepper race as Arkansas placed 1-2-4-5-6 in scoring 18 points for the team victory over Western Colorado (93) and Incarnate Word (137) with Arkansas State (158) fourth.

In 2022, Patrick Kiprop finished second with Shearer sixth as the Razorbacks claimed the team title with 61 points.

Kiprop, Yego, and Shearer return from Arkansas’ fourth-place finish at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Transfer additions this season include Brian Masai and Timothy Chesondin from Akron along with Yaseen Abdalla from Tennessee.

Returning Razorbacks who have already raced this season in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Preview include Elias Schreml, Tommy Romanow, and Jack Williams. Newcomers who made their Arkansas debut at OSU include Davis Helmerich, Donovan Bitticks, Dawson Welch, Leo Spitzer, and Eli Seavy.