Razorbacks return home after trips to Oregon and Boston to host 33rd edition of event, featuring Tulsa, along with Division 2 powers Colorado School of Mines and Augustana, plus elite junior college teams Iowa Central and Iowa Western

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The Arkansas women’s team is returning from the Northwest after its first taste of national competition at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Oregon, and the Razorback men’s squad is back in Fayetteville following a victory Sept. 24 at the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown at Franklin Park in Boston.

But they will all be together Friday at Agri Park at the Arkansas cross country course in Fayetteville to celebrate the 33rd edition of the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival, which will showcase more than 75 collegiate programs from multiple divisions across four races beginning at 3:45 p.m. CDT, followed by the Godpepper 10-kilometer race and high school competition that is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. CDT Saturday.

The schedule was split from its usual one-day format to back-to-back days, in order to allow spectators to attend Friday’s competition. The high school schedule Saturday will have no fans in attendance.

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OF CHILE PEPPER CROSS COUNTRY FESTIVAL

Last year, there was a high school-only version of the event, with Bentonville sweeping both boys and girls titles in the 5A-6A races, and Pea Ridge securing a pair of victories in the 1A-4A races.

“COVID put a dent in our schedule last year, this year we have a little more freedom where we can have the traditional great fans who really support cross country in a very unique setting at the Chile Pepper Festival,” said Arkansas women’s coach Lance Harter, whose team has won every year at the event from 2012-19.

“Cross country is one of those sports where we don’t get too much of an audience typically, but Chile Pepper has been famous for 10,000 to 12,000 people coming to enjoy the festivities of cross country racing, from a community race to the collegians to the high schools to the junior highs.

“Obviously some of that is curtailed this year because of the concerns of COVID, but the reality for us is that we’ll still draw a very large crowd Friday night because a lot of those high schools will be there warming up on the course and previewing the area. And then you throw on top of it that type of fandom that appreciates the sport cheering on the collegians, I think we’re really excited about that. All in all, it’s very much a festive atmosphere and that was the original goal of Chile Pepper from the beginning.”

Although the depth of Division 1 programs in the 5 p.m. women’s race features no other nationally ranked programs aside from the No. 10 Razorbacks, there are several NCAA Division 2 powers ready to test themselves on the 5-kilometer layout.

Colorado School of Mines, ranked No. 2 in Division 2, in addition to No. 4 Augustana of South Dakota and No. 6 Southwest Baptist are entered, along with Iowa Western, the No. 2 program in National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1.

Arkansas, which finished third Sept. 23 at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, will race a lineup featuring Krissy Gear, Logan Jolly, Julia Paternain, Gracie Hyde and Carmie Prinsloo.

Harter confirmed he is not planning to have highly touted freshmen Sydney Thorvaldson, Allie Janke and Heidi Nielson compete this season.

In the marquee men’s 8-kilometer race at 5:30 p.m. CDT, the No. 8 Razorbacks – who prevailed by a 39-60 margin over Syracuse at the meet organized by Boston College – will play host to No. 11 Tulsa, along with Colorado School of Mines, the top-ranked team in Division 2.

Augustana, ranked No. 4, as well as No. 18 Western Colorado are additional Division 2 programs scheduled to compete, along with three of the top five NJCAA Division 1 programs in top-ranked Iowa Central, No. 3 Iowa Western and No. 5 Cloud County from Kansas.

“I think that is what makes Chile Pepper special. It’s not a meet that attracts the team like Nuttycomb does, or Pre-Nats for that matter. But it does bring a lot of variety to Fayetteville, and I think that’s what makes the meet kind of special,” said Arkansas men’s coach Chris Bucknam, whose team had a six-year winning streak at Chile Pepper snapped by Texas in 2019.

“You’ve got some great Division 2 teams and some national junior college teams, so it’s like an all-class meet. Back in high school, you ran the different classes, and then you had the all-class meet. We’ll see some great athletes this weekend and we’re looking forward to some great competition.”

Arkansas will field a lineup highlighted by Myles Richter, Luke George, Carter Persyn, Tommy Romanow, Josh Shearer and Jayce Turner.

The Razorbacks will also take advantage of competing at home by allowing freshmen Ruben Reina, Ben Shearer, Elias Schreml and Jack Williams to all run unattached.

“We’ll take advantage of it every chance we can and we’re excited to see what happens,” Bucknam said. “I’m a big believer in these freshmen competing as much as they can and getting a taste of having a uniform on and competing with the team. With indoor and outdoor track being separate sports and different seasons, we can redshirt them down the road if we need to, but I’m a big believer in giving them opportunities and seeing what they can do. And this gives us the best of both worlds.”

And a chance for several Arkansas student-athletes to compete in a cross country race in Fayetteville for the first time since 2019.

“When I talked to Lauren (Gregory) and Krissy and some of our other upperclassmen and said that we had the opportunity to go to Notre Dame (for the Joe Piane Invitational) and see some great competition on that same weekend, it was unanimous that they would rather stay home,” Harter said.

Even though part of the trip itinerary in Boston included the special attraction of attending a Red Sox and Yankees game for the Arkansas men’s team, Bucknam knows how meaningful it is to race again at home Friday.

“It’s great and it’s just another sign of being healthy again and having a healthy athletic department and a healthy schedule, because we all want things to get back to how we know and get back to normal,” Bucknam said. “This is one of those marquee events where you judge whether things are returning to normal and we’re not quite there yet, because we split Friday and Saturday, but I just love the Chile Pepper. I love the vibe and I love the atmosphere, and quite frankly, I don’t understand why there are more schools that don’t want to come run on our course because it’s fast, it’s easy on the legs and it’s a great atmosphere.

“You get into a fast race at Chile Pepper based on how good you are, not based on what division you are in. I think that’s what makes the meet special and we’ll continue to host it that way and the Chile Pepper board will continue to host it that way.”