No. 22 ranked Cougar cross country team competes at prestigious Chile Pepper Festival

The Barton Community College men's team competed this past Saturday in the collegiate division at the 27th annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  The No. 22 ranked Cougars placed 21st amongst the 33 collegiate teams in the 8k race competing against 466 competitors.  The No. 15 ranked Razorbacks took home the university title in the fifteen team NCAA Division I field.

Recording a personal best and school second-best time, Sampson Laari bettered his '14 performance at the Festival by twenty-seconds coming in at 24:25.46 to lead the Cougars placing 24th overall and seventh in the collegiate division.  

Fellow sophomore Elder Colindres set a new personal best clocking a 27:17.00 for the 124th spot in the division and 283rd overall.  Freshman D'Corian Williams was thirteen seconds behind at 27:30.27 in 137th place and 301st overall.  Not competing at the Festival in his freshman season, Marcus Pastran placed 165th and 343rd overall at 27:58.40.  

Freshman Morgan Feemster finished 185th in the division and 382nd overall at 28:33.98 to lead sophomores Tyler Thornton and Anthony Forrest as the final three Barton entries.   Thornton, making his second appearance at the Festival, improved his showing coming in 196th in the division and 407 overall with a 29:14.50 while Forrest's 31:38.45 placed 219th in the division and 454th overall.  

Barton will next compete this coming Saturday, October 10, at the Fort Hays State University Tiger Open in Victoria, Kansas.  Race time is set to begin at 9:40 a.m.

Complete men's 8k results