FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Megan Ombres finished fourth in the Women Prairie Fire Pepper 5K, her highest finish as an individual in a collegiate cross country race, as Texas State competed in the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville on Friday.
Ombres was joined in the top-10 in a field of 275 women's runners by teammate
Daniela Wisniewski, who finished ninth with a time of 18:43.0. It was the second time in three races the two had top-10 finishes in the same race.
Ombres bettered her previous PR by thirty seconds, a time she ran last year at the Sun Belt Championships, while it was more than a minute better than her time at the same course in October 2021.
Ombres finished 1:08 behind the race winner, Emily Diercks. Her pace of 5:55 per mile was her best this season in three races.
Wisniewski, meanwhile, bested her PR by more than a minute – a mark that has stood for nearly two years. She ran her previous PR at the 2020 Sun Belt Cross Country Championships (20:07.9). Her 6:01 pace on Friday was two seconds faster than her previous best this year.
Abigail Parra finished 16th after running 19:00.7, helping the women's team place seventh in a group of 34 schools that scored.
On the men's side,
Dylan Pitts led the team with a 43rd place finish and a time of 26:42.2 in the Men Prairie Fire Pepper 8K. Four Bobcats also finished within eight seconds of each other:
Santos Flores (27:28.9),
Franco Melhado (27:29.4),
Ismael Hernandez (27:31.7), and
Justin Wagner (27:36.9).
The men's team finished 12th among 38 scoring teams.
The Bobcats will race in their last regular season competition on October 15 in the Arturio Barrios in College Station.
Texas State Men's Results
Distance: 8K
43.
Dylan Pitts – 26:42.2 (pace: 5:23)
80.
Santos Flores – 27:28.9 (5:31)
81.
Franco Melhado – 27:29.4 (5:31)
82.
Ismael Hernandez – 27:31.7 (5:32)
87.
Justin Wagner – 27:36.9 (5:33)
Other finishers…
Micah Swartz – 28:09.7 (5:39)
William Moore – 28:11.4 (5:40)
Zachary Keller – 29:40.0 (5:57)
Texas State Women's Results
Distance: 5K
4.
Megan Ombres – 18:25.5 (pace: 5:55)
9.
Daniela Wisniewski – 18:43.0 (6:01)
16.
Abigail Parra – 19:00.7 (6:06)
Other finishers…
Kila Rodas – 20:33.0 (6:36)
Ariane Williams – 21:36.6 (6:57)
Michelle Wisniewski – 24:01.1 (7:43)
