University of Houston
Arkansas Chili Pepper Festival
Cross Country Men and Women Compete in Elite Arkansas Meet
10/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 17, 2010
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The University of Houston cross country team took on more than 900 runners combined in the men's and women's races at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Saturday.
The Cougar men raced first on Saturday morning, in the team's first 10K of the season. The Cougars bested nearly half of the 50-team field with their 27th-place finish. Junior Nate Pineda returned to his familiar role of the team's highest finisher with his time of 32:06.06 to finish 131st.
Sophomore David Smith followed in 167th after posting a time of 32:32.70 in the 10K. Junior Stephan Keller continued to move himself up in the team's lineup. He finished third among the Cougars by placing 152nd (32:55.32). Just three seconds behind him, freshman Drevan Anderson-Kaapa crossed the finish line in 155th place.
Juniors Andres Santaolalla and Anthony Jordan clocked in 20 seconds apart, as they finished in 232nd and 259th, respectively.
The reigning NCAA National Champion men's team from Oklahoma State claimed the title with an impressive and rarely seen feat when the Cowboys top-four runners locked down first, second, third and fourth place.
On the women's side, the Cougars were still able to post a 30th-place finish despite being without junior Brandi Witte, who did not compete on Saturday. The women went up against a few more opponents than the men in the 56-team field.
Sophomore Kathryn Ducommun set the tone for the Cougars, finishing 98th with a 5K time of 18:20.86. Junior Starla Garcia came in next as her 18:31.55 was good for 119th place.
After leading the team last weekend, junior Megan Munoz logged a third-place team performance on Saturday, crossing the line four seconds later to finish 124th. Senior and co-captain Erica Hannemann and freshman Julie Reinwald filled the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup with times of 19:21.33 and 19:37.97, respectively.
Fellow co-captain and senior Jasmine Trier clocked a time of 19:55.21. Yasiris Gonzalez and Eryn Barroso rounded out the list of Cougar runners. Gonzalez took 336th and Barroso came in 347th.
The Cowgirls of Oklahoma State made the event a clean sweep as they earned first-place rights along with their men's squad.
The Chile Pepper Festival was the Cougars final tune-up before heading to the C-USA Championships. The University of Tulsa will play host to the league meet on Nov. 1.
Full results can be found by clicking here.
Houston Men (27th)
131. Nate Pineda (32:06.06)
167. David Smith (32:32.70)
203. Stephan Keller (32:55.32)
206. Drevan Anderson-Kaapa (32:58.24)
232. Andres Santaolalla (33:14.78)
259. Anthony Jordan (33:34.46)
Houston Women (30th)
98. Kathryn Ducommun (18:20.86)
119. Starla Garcia (18:31.55)
124. Megan Munoz (18:35.77)
232. Erica Hannemann (19:21.33)
266. Julie Reinwald (19:37.97)
309. Jasmine Trier (19:55.21)
336. Yasiris Gonzalez (20:11.58)
347. Eryn Barroso (20:23.73)
Players Mentioned
