FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior Leslie Romero placed 10^th at the 30^th Annual Chile Pepper Festival. Her performance helped the Texas State women's cross country team finish fourth overall out of 51 teams.
 
Romero, a transfer from South Plains College, crossed the mile checkpoint in 12^th place. She moved into 10^th at the 3.5K checkpoint and held the spot for the rest of the race. The Houston native finished with a time of 17:33.4, the second fastest in program history at the 5K distance.
 
Devina Schneider was the second TXST runner to cross the finish line. She did so with a time of 18:23.3 in 45^th. The senior led a contingent of four Bobcats to complete the race over eight spots.
 
Tina Sierra recorded a time of 18:27.6 to take 48^th and immediately following her was Sydney Cole less than a second later. Round out the foursome was McKynzie King in 52^nd with a time of 18:29.9.
 
Leading the men's team to a 14^th-place finish was Joseph Meade. The senior claimed 13^th in the 8K course in 24:48.4. His biggest improvement during the race came between the mile and 3.5K checkpoints when he jumped 22 spots from 38^th to 16^th.
 
Dereck Elkins was the second Bobcat to come across the line with a time of 25.59.9. Other Texas State runners to score for the men were Travian Holst, Owen McGlothlin and Cade Michael.
 
The Bobcats conclude their regular season on Saturday, Oct. 13 in College Station, Texas for the Arturo Barrios Invitational.
 
For the latest on Texas State cross country, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateTrack.