FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas State cross country women's team placed 18th and the men finished 20th at the 31st annual Chile Pepper Festival at Argi Park Oct. 5. There was a total of 593 collegiate participants in the event (315 men and 278 women).  
 
Both teams had three runners finish inside the top 100. The women averaged an 18:46.26 time with 501 points in the 5K race with a field of 27 teams and the men averaged 25:48.84 in the 8K race with 565 points competing against 32 teams.
 
Junior Tina Sierra led the charge for the women, finishing 73rd with an 18:18.4 time. She was followed by junior Sydney Cole and freshman Riley McGrath who timed out at 18:23.9 and 18:28.3 for 81st and 84th-place finishes, respectively. Rounding out the scorers for the Bobcat women were senior Abby Steinhauser (No. 101, 18:41.3) and senior Sarah Godfrey (No. 162, 19:59.4).
 
Junior Justin Botello led the Bobcat men for the second consecutive meet with a 25:09.5 time placing 57th.  Senior Johen Deleon finished 63rd (25:14.1), followed by junior Cade Michael who jumped 56 spots from his one-mile mark to place 98th with a time of 25:38.5. Sophomore Chase Bracher placed 169th with a 26:28.0 time and junior Owen McGlothlin completed the Bobcats' top five with a 179th finish and 26:34.2 time.
 
Texas State will have one more competition Oct. 19 at the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas before heading to Hampton, Georgia for the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championships.
 
Stay updated on everything Texas State cross country and track and field by following the team on  Twitter, and Instagram.
 
 
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