FAYETTEVILLE — A late kick did the trick for Reed Brown of Southlake Carroll, Texas, on Saturday morning.
Brown used a strong finish over the last 400 meters to win the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival Boys Division by a fraction of a second in a time of 15 minutes, 06.34 seconds. Brown edged Devin Meyrer of Lafayette, Mo., who was second in 15:06.84.
Lafayette easily won the boys competition as the Lancers placed four runners in the top 10 to finish with 46 points. Southlake Carroll was second with 76 points, while Fayetteville took third with 186 points.
Springdale Har-Ber’s T.J. Sugg was the first Arkansas runner to cross as the defending Class 7A state champion finished in eighth in a time of 15:26.21. The Wildcats finished in 16th place as a team.
Brown, who is a senior, had never competed in the Chile Pepper before, but he said a good start put him in prime position early in the race.
“We got a spot on the inside of the starting line, so we had a straight run and we got out fast,” Brown said. “I wanted to get to the front and hold my position. They started passing me with about 400 meters, but I had a surge at the end.”
Sugg said he made a move midway through the race to catch the lead pack.
“During the last 100 meters, I gave it all I could,” Sugg said. “It’s good competition, and you look at those guys and they look like they are running effortlessly. This will give me a little more motivation to work harder for state.”
Freshman Carmen Fischer led Fayetteville with a 16th-place finish in a time of 15:43.09. Collin Pilkington was next for the Bulldogs in 21st place in a time of 15:50.40.
“Here’s the funny thing,” Fayetteville coach Michelle Fyfe said. “(Friday) I came out here to look at the course with our two twins, Collin and Jordan Pilkington. And we went to our usual spot and Rogers Heritage had taken our spot. The twins were all worried and wondered what we should do. But I just said, ‘Let’s pick a new spot because we haven’t really ever won the Chile Pepper.
“So maybe it was good mojo that we had to pick a new spot for our tent.”
Bentonville finished in 21st place while Rogers High was 22nd. Johnathan Prince finished in 34th place (16:02.09) for the Tigers. Jessie Ramirez was the top Rogers finisher in 50th place with a time of 16:15.20