2008 Woodie Awards
Cross country hogs prepare for Chile Pepper
Matt Watson
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
Arkansas head coach John McDonnell's crew is in full preparation mode for the 19th annual Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville after an idle weekend.
No. 9 Arkansas dropped four spots in this week's cross country coaches' polls, released Tuesday, after a third-place finish in its last meet at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree.
The Oregon Ducks are now No. 1 in the nation, with 10 of 13 possible first-place votes. Southeastern Conference rival Alabama jumped ahead of the Razorbacks at No. 8.
The Hog harriers are still holding on to the top spot in the South Central Region, ahead of Texas and Texas A&M, respectively.
The Chile Pepper race is the Razorbacks' last meet before the SEC Championships, which fall on the last week of October. The University of Kentucky will host the meet in Lexington, Ky.
The collegiate men will run the 10,000-meters Saturday at 9:45 a.m. at Agri Park on Drake St.
The No. 5 Lady'Back harriers will race in the Chile Pepper 6K at 10:30 a.m. Awards for the collegians will be announced a half hour later.
A runner-up finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon dropped the Lady'Backs one spot in the rankings this week.
The roots of the Chile Pepper Festival can be traced to 1988, when then-Fayetteville High School cross country coach Kelly O'Meara and some friends decided to raise money for his team, which had a budget of one hundred dollars, according to the festival's Web site.
The proceeds to the Chile Pepper events go to local high school cross country teams in Northwest Arkansas. In the event's history, it has raised more than $100 thousand for schools in the region.
There is a 10K Open run at 8 a.m. Saturday and a mile fun run/walk shortly after. The Open is 25 dollars on race day, and the mile is $10.
The high school athletes will take the field between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
More than 3,500 runners and 4,000 spectators are expected at the Chile Pepper, making it one of the premier cross country spectacles in the country, the Web site says.
Volunteers are needed Friday night from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The Razorbacks are looking to bounce back from a disappointing finish at the Cowboy Jamboree before the conference meet.
After the last race, coach McDonnell said, "We have some time before Chile Pepper in two weeks and SEC Championships…We can turn it around, but the athletes have to make the decision to do that."
The time is now for Arkansas to gain momentum before the conference and regional championships if they want to have a chance at another national title.
No. 9 Arkansas dropped four spots in this week's cross country coaches' polls, released Tuesday, after a third-place finish in its last meet at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree.
The Oregon Ducks are now No. 1 in the nation, with 10 of 13 possible first-place votes. Southeastern Conference rival Alabama jumped ahead of the Razorbacks at No. 8.
The Hog harriers are still holding on to the top spot in the South Central Region, ahead of Texas and Texas A&M, respectively.
The Chile Pepper race is the Razorbacks' last meet before the SEC Championships, which fall on the last week of October. The University of Kentucky will host the meet in Lexington, Ky.
The collegiate men will run the 10,000-meters Saturday at 9:45 a.m. at Agri Park on Drake St.
The No. 5 Lady'Back harriers will race in the Chile Pepper 6K at 10:30 a.m. Awards for the collegians will be announced a half hour later.
A runner-up finish at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon dropped the Lady'Backs one spot in the rankings this week.
The roots of the Chile Pepper Festival can be traced to 1988, when then-Fayetteville High School cross country coach Kelly O'Meara and some friends decided to raise money for his team, which had a budget of one hundred dollars, according to the festival's Web site.
The proceeds to the Chile Pepper events go to local high school cross country teams in Northwest Arkansas. In the event's history, it has raised more than $100 thousand for schools in the region.
There is a 10K Open run at 8 a.m. Saturday and a mile fun run/walk shortly after. The Open is 25 dollars on race day, and the mile is $10.
The high school athletes will take the field between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
More than 3,500 runners and 4,000 spectators are expected at the Chile Pepper, making it one of the premier cross country spectacles in the country, the Web site says.
Volunteers are needed Friday night from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 6 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The Razorbacks are looking to bounce back from a disappointing finish at the Cowboy Jamboree before the conference meet.
After the last race, coach McDonnell said, "We have some time before Chile Pepper in two weeks and SEC Championships…We can turn it around, but the athletes have to make the decision to do that."
The time is now for Arkansas to gain momentum before the conference and regional championships if they want to have a chance at another national title.
Be the first to comment on this story