NIACC cross country teams compete at Chile Pepper on Saturday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The NIACC men's and women's cross country teams compete at the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Invitational on Saturday.

The men's collegiate 8-kilometer race starts at 9:45 a.m. The women's collegiate 5K race starts at 10:20 a.m.

The No. 10 NIACC men are coming off a 20th place finish (Maroon Division II) at the Griak Invitational last Saturday in St. Paul, Minn. 

NIACC sophomore Wal Khat placed fifth in the 8K race in 26 minutes, 18 seconds. Khat's fifth-place finish was the highest ever for a NIACC men's runner at the Griak Invitational.

Trent Smith placed ninth for the Trojans at the 2012 Griak Invitational.

Other counting scores for NIACC at the Griak Invitational, Zach Freund was 82nd in 27:52, Colby Kraninger was 153rd in 28:39, John Kraft was 201st in 29:06 and Blake Keller was 237th in 29:27.

The No. 25 NIACC women placed 39th at the Griak Invitational last Saturday. Kendra Schmidt led the Lady Trojans with a 229th place finish in 27:09.

Also for the Lady Trojans, Amy Fullerton was 241st in 27:18, Guadalupe Diaz was 344th in 29:49, Cassandra Bonsall was 345th in 29:52 and Keisha Gonzague was 357th in 30:21.

Last season at the Chile Pepper race, sophomore Imad Amenzou placed 67th and set the NIACC men's school record in the 8K in a time of 25:12. The Trojans placed 26th out of 33 teams last season.

The NIACC women placed 25th out of 33 teams at the Chile Pepper in 2015.