Missouri State University
Chile Pepper Festival
Cross Country Set for Chile Pepper Festival
September 30, 2021 | Women's Cross Country
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SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State women's cross country team will be back in action this weekend when it competes at the Chile Pepper Festival on Friday at 5 p.m. The University of Arkansas is the meet host, which will feature multiple heats at AGRI Park in Fayetteville, Ark. Â
The Bears are set to race in the second heat on Friday afternoon, featuring athletes from 38 schools across the country. Missouri State will send 14 runners to the annual, 5-kilometer race, which the Bears have competed in since 2015, with exception of the 2020 season. In its last outing at the meet in 2019, the team finished 12th in the 27-team field.Â
"Friday presents another great opportunity for us to show where our fitness level is against a really deep field. The entries look to be as good as they've ever been since I've been taking teams to this meet," said head coach Jordan Fife. Â
MSU is coming off the Southern Stampede two weeks ago in Joplin, Mo., where seven athletes finished with all-time bests. Senior Edna Dar led the team for the second-straight week, with a career-best 5-kilometer time of 17:40.09, good for a 15th place finish among a competitive field of 252 runners. Sierra Williams and Shelby Palmer recorded season and career bests for the Bears as well, on Sept. 18, with times of 17:59.19 and 18:30.55, respectively. Freshman Mary Margaret Harris also competed well in the team's last outing, racing a time of 18:44.90, and finishing fourth on the team. Â
"Training has gone relatively well over the last couple of weeks," said Fife, "so we're just excited to get out there and hold our own as we further prepare for the conference championships a month from now."Â Â
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