FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With their top six runners all finishing within 25 seconds of each other, Missouri S&T's women's cross country team came with the team title Friday in the Prairie Fire Pepper race at the Chile Pepper Festival.  S&T's men's team, taking part in the very competitive McDonnell Memorial race, finished in 25^th in the team standings.

The top finisher among the women was Aubrie Caldwell (Dripping Springs, TX/Dripping Springs) in 24^th place as she covered the five-kilometer course in 19:11.5, but Grace Giesler (Owasso, OK/Owasso) finished immediately behind her in 19:11.9 and Victoria Regitz (Rockville, MD/Rockville) ended up in 27^th place in 19:12.

S&T's top five was rounded out by Clare Holmes (Camdenton, MO/Camdenton) in 44^th place in 19:31 and Emma Mueller (St. Louis, MO/Oakville) in 47^th in 19:34, giving S&T a team total of 156 points to edge St. Edward's by four points for the championship.  Tarleton State, who now competes at the NCAA Division I level, finished third with 187 points.

The Miners' other scorers on Friday were Emily Griesenauer (Wentzville, MO/Holt) in 48^th place in 19:36 and Megan Cook (Okawville, IL/Okawville), who finished with a time of 20:41 in the 275-runner race.  A total of 34 teams scored in the Prairie Fire race that was won by Emily Diercks of Colby Community College in 17:17.

The men's race, which consisted of 33 teams that included 16 NCAA Division I programs and 356 runners that finished, saw Hayes Pateidl (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) finish in 25^th place with a time of 24:28 in the eight-kilometer event.

Andrew Lofgren (Chesterfield, MO/Parkway West) was the next Miner to cross the finish line in 103^rd place in 25:19, followed by Andrew Bacon (Webster Groves, MO/Webster Groves) in 25:51, Daniel Garrison (Liberty, MO/Liberty) in 26:03 and Lucas Rackers (Florissant, MO/St. Louis University HS) in 26:04.  S&T's other scorers were Evan Stephens (Jackson, MO/Jackson), who finished in 26:40 and Joshua Nunn (Independence, MO/Truman) in 26:58.

Colby Community College's Sanele Masondo won the race with a time of 23:18, while host Arkansas captured the team championship by an 88-point margin with a score of 61 points.

Missouri S&T's cross country teams will compete again next Friday at the TRXC Border War Championships at Principia College in Elsah, Ill., the site of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships in early November.