CROSS COUNTRY Fayetteville boys use teamwork for strong showing at Chile Pepper

Fayetteville's Storm Skyrme nears the finish line Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, during the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival at Agri Park in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the races.
Fayetteville's Storm Skyrme nears the finish line Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, during the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival at Agri Park in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the races.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fayetteville was disappointed when it failed to draw national attention after winning cross country meets in Missouri and Kansas.

Perhaps the Bulldogs will receive recognition in the MileSplit50 rankings after placing second in the high school boys division of the 31st annual Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday at the Agri Park course. Southlake (Texas) Carroll-Stripes placed first with 101 points. Fayetteville was second with 161 points followed by Lucas Lovejoy with 226 points and fourth-place Bentonville with 289 points.

Chile Pepper Festival

Results

Boys

Team results

Team^Score

Carroll-Stripes^101

Fayetteville^161

Lucas Lovejoy^226

Bentonville^289

Mill Valley^357

Carroll-Green^357

Grapevine^359

St. Joseph Central^366

Festus^388

Deer Creek^443

Individual Results

Name^School^Time

Judson Greer^Melissa^15:06.4

Jackson Williams^Arlington^15:31.1

Lukas Pabst^Bentonville^15:34.2

Braden Zaner^Raymore-Peculiar^15:38.1

Christian Arenivar^Santa Fe South^15:39.5

Nate Lannen^Carrol-Stripes^15:40.8

Soloman Chavez^Carroll-Stripes^15:42.9

Daelen Ackley^El Dorado Springs^15:44.1

AJ Wallach^Kirkwood^15:46.5

Gabe Simonsen^Mustang^15:48.9

Reuben Reina^Springdale Har-Ber^15:52.1

Will Muirhead^Lucas Lovejoy^15:53.6

Daniel Graham^Bentonville^15:46.6

Trevor Salle^Guthrie^15:55.4

Brady Bauder^Kickapoo^15:55.5

Luke Walling^Cave City^15:55.7

Gabe Craig^Fayetteville^15:57.5

Carter Betts^Fayetteville^15:58.2

Keagan Terrell^Bentonville West^15:59.2

Antonio Florcruz^Carroll-Stripes^15:59.5

Simon Ogle^Festus^16:00.4

Jackson Long^St. Michael’s Academy^16:03.1

Whitson Bedell^Lucas Lovejoy^16:05.3

Carson Sturdy^De Soto^16:06.4

Patrick Estes^Paschal^16:07.3

Results

Girls

Team results

Team^Score

Carroll-Stripes^42

Grapevine^138

Mill Valley^190

Colleyville Heritage^237

Olathe North^264

Fayetteville^328

Blue Springs South^360

Carroll-Green^381

Bentonville^383

Rogers^389

Individual Results

Name^School

Avery Clover^Atascocita^18:07.6

Jenna Holland^Carroll-Stripes^18:19.3

Kaylie Knox^Carroll-Stripes^18:39.7

Lydia Lo^Carroll-Stripes^18:43.3

Avery Mazzei^Jenks^18:48.9

Austin Owen^Marcus^18:49.7

Allison Newman^St. George’s^18:51.1

Riley Beach^Blue Valley NW^18:51.7

Andrea Acuna^Fort Worth Boswell^18:51.7

Grace Litzinger^Fayetteville^18:58.5

Kaylee Tobabien^Olathe North^19:04.5

Klaire Brown^Kickapoo^19:04.8

Caroline Burrow^Grapevine^19:05.3

Abigail McIlvain^Carroll-Stripes^19:05.9

Alley Kruger^Liberty^19:06.4

Felisa Saheib^Colleyville Heritage^19:09.8

Mya Trober^Blue Springs South^19:10.1

Gretchen Pfeiffer^Colleyville Heritage^19:09.8

Katie Schwartzkoff^Mill Valley^19:14.7

Carolyn Thurlby^Blue Valley NW^19:15.6

Riley Arnold^Blue Eye^19:16.3

Anna White^Westmore^19:18.5

Lauren Rutlin^St. George’s^19:19.1

Morgan Koca^Mill Valley^19:22.0

Ann-Marie Braese^Timber Creek^19:26.8

Fayetteville was initially declared the winner of Saturday's race. But Southlake (Texas) overtook the Bulldogs after a missing chip from a Southlake runner was discovered and entered into the final standings hours after the completion of the race. Fayetteville coach Michelle Fyfe said she was still pleased with the Bulldogs' showing Saturday.

"They're hungry," Fyfe said. "They really want to go out there and send a message. They have great senior leaders, and they've decided 'Hey, let's go out there and do this as a team, guys.'"

The competition for the boys individual championship was wide open after Camren Fischer of Fayetteville won his second consecutive Chile Pepper championship as a senior last year over the 5,000-meter course. Justin Greer of Melissa, Texas, came in first Saturday with a time of 15:064. Lukas Pabst of Bentonville was third with a time of 15:34.2.

Seniors Gabe Craig and Carter Betts displayed Fayetteville's team mentality by crossing the finish line within seconds of each other. Craig was 17th overall with a time of 15:57.5 while Betts as 18th with a time of 15:59.2. Another teammate, Anton Michna, finished 32nd in a time of 16:10.0.

"For a solid two-thirds of the race we were running as a group," Craig said. "Running in a group like that really helps to remind you that you're running for the team and not just yourself."

Fayetteville placed second on its home course after winning the Southern Stampede at Missouri Southern and the Rim Rock Festival at the University of Kansas. The Bulldogs are hopeful the sweep will garner some national attention when the next rankings are released.

"We won at Missouri Southern, and Mile Split just kind of ignored us," Michna said. "We're focused on winning the state, but we really got fired up about being left off the rankings. We won at Rim Rock, and we won here, so we're thinking we might demand some attention."

On the girls side, Fayetteville finished sixth (328) followed by Bentonville (383) in ninth place and Rogers High (389) in 10th. Fayetteville's Grace Litzinger (18:58.5) was the highest local runner with a 10th-place finish.

"She has just been killing it at practice and dropping her times," Fyfe said. "She's been amazing, and she's such a good kid. It's been so fun to watch her grow."

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Fayetteville's Grace Litzinger comes in to the finish line Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019, in the girls El Caliente during the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival at Agri Park in Fayetteville. Visit nwadg.com/photos to see more photographs from the races.

Preps Sports on 10/06/2019

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