The Butler cross country teams continued their fall season on the road in Arkansas this past weekend competing in the Chili Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas.

Victor Jumo was the highlight on the men's side finishing third place out of 256 runners in the men's 8K race running a 25:54.9. Erick Chavez put together a nice race running a 26:55.9 8K to place 26^th in the meet. Valeur Muyoboke was the next highest finisher on the men's side as he came in 142^nd with a time of 30:09.7. Freshman Zach Trotter ran a 32:00.5 race and took 198^th place while Garin Knight finished 232 running a 35:33.9.

"Victor is really coming into his own and learning how to race at this level," commented Mark Emmerson, assistant coach. "I am excited to see how Victor and the rest of the team continues to develop over the next few weeks leading up to regionals and nationals."

The men took 18^th overall in a race that consisted of 31 teams from across the country and all levels.

The women finished 26^th place in the meet that had 30 participating teams from all levels.

Cambell Williams was the highest finisher on the women's side coming in 121^st place with a 5K time of 21:53.6. Emily Hankins wasn't far behind Williams as she came in 149^th place in the field of 242 runners with a time of 22:52.8. Eleanor Groh ran a 23:55.9 to finish 174^th in the meet. Toby McClure and Leyni Gomez kept pace with each other finishing 183^rd and 194^th with times of 24:13.3 and 24:57.9. Ann Dangha finished 215^th with a 26:32.0.

"Both squads competed well this past weekend," mentioned Emerson. "It was a great experience and a preview of how the national rave will be like. We had some personal bests on both sides that we are proud of."

Butler will continue their season this coming Saturday in Hays, KS as they compete in the Tiger Open. Women's 5K race will begin at 9:00am followed by the men's 8K at 9:35am. The meet will be held in Victoria, KS, about 10 miles east of Hays, at Sand Plum Nature Trail.