Freshman Noe becomes sixth straight Arkansas female athlete to triumph, as Razorback women sweep top four spots to secure 11th consecutive team victory; South Alabama transfer Yego helps men’s team repeat in Fayetteville

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

There are only so many chances a freshman can get to make a great first impression in a collegiate home debut and Arkansas’ Paityn Noe made the most of it.

Noe, a true freshman from Ballard Community High in Huxley, Iowa, put together a clinic at the 35th Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival, running 16 minutes, 9.4 seconds to win the Harter’s Habanero women’s 5-kilometer race by 35 seconds Friday at the University of Arkansas cross country course at Agri Park in Fayetteville.

RACE VIDEOS | RESULTS

Noe, who was second in the 3-kilometer race Sept. 1 at the Cowboy Preview in Stillwater, Okla., led five Arkansas scorers in the top 10 to help the No. 20 Razorbacks score 20 points to claim their 11th consecutive women’s team title, with Sydney Thorvaldson, who won the Cowboy Preview, finishing second in 16:44.1, Laura Taborda earning third in 16:49.8, Heidi Nelson placing fourth in 16:56.9 and Mia Cochran taking 10th in 17:15.

Mary Ellen Eudaly and Mackenzie Rogers were 11th and 12th, respectively, for the Razorbacks in 17:17 and 17:17.8 as Arkansas’ sixth and seventh runners.

Arkansas was perfect early through the first mile, with five Razorbacks in first through fifth separated by 13 seconds, with Thorvaldson going through at 5:06.8 and Noe in second at 5:12.5. 

At the 3.5-kilometer mark, Noe caught up to Thorvaldson as they both crossed in 11:35.2. From there, Noe was able to take her first lead and was able to close strong over the final stretch to secure her first collegiate win and become the sixth straight Arkansas female athlete to triumph at Chile Pepper.

Southern Methodist put together 89 points to finish second with three runners finishing in the top 20, including Kaitlyn Gearin in fifth in 16:58.2.

Western Colorado, ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division 2, secured third place with 121 points, led by Allison Beasley (17:10.5, eighth) and Leah Taylor (17:24.4, 14th). 

UT-Arlington’s Matroline Jepkemboi, recently named WAC Cross Country Athlete of the Week, took sixth in 17:03.3, with Arkansas State’s Rahel Broemmel finishing seventh in 17:04 and Southern Miss’ Isabela Ross finishing ninth in 17:14.

The No. 22 Arkansas men were almost perfect in the McDonnell Memorial 8-kilometer race with five Razorbacks finishing in the top six to score 18 points to defeat Western Colorado, ranked 11th in Division 2, with 93 points. 

South Alabama transfer Kirami Yego won in 23:14.1 to lead Arkansas in his Razorback debut, with teammate Ben Shearer close behind him in second at 23:36.6. Elias Schremel (24:04.4, fourth), Reuben Reina (24:06, fifth) and Myle Richter (24:10.1, sixth) completed the scoring for Arkansas.

Kidus Misgina of Trinidad State, the top-ranked NJCAA Division 1 program from Trinidad, Colo., placed third in 24:00.2 to break up Arkansas’ perfect score.

Simon Kelati led second-place Western Colorado with a seventh-place effort in 24:18.2, with teammates Tyler Nord (24:43, 15th), Albert Hesse (24:47.1, 19th) and Michael Grabowski (24:50.9) cracking the top 20 for the Mountaineers.

Missouri Southern’s Gidieon Kimuati ran 24:21.9 to place eighth and Incarnate Word’s Griffin Neal was ninth in 24:28.9.

Khloi Bird of Butler Community College of El Dorado, Kan., used a strong second half in the women’s Prairie Fire 5K to prevail in 18:43.5 over Iowa Central Community College’s Joan Jepngetich in 18:49.5.

Minot State, another NCAA Division 2 entry, scored 92 points to claim the team title over NJCAA program Cowley of Kansas (109) and No. 7 Butler (114), with Sidra Sadowsky leading the way for the Beavers in 19:26.1 for 11th place.

Butler’s Adem Bouldjada boulted to the start and never lost sight of first to win the men’s Prairie Fire 8K by 93 seconds in 24:16.2, picking up the third win of his freshman season. 

UT-Dallas, representing NCAA Division 3, defeated Division 2 program Southwest Baptist from Bolivar, Mo., by a 65-71 margin, with Minot State placing third with 143 points. 

Grame MacLean secured sixth place for the Comets, running 26:37, with four of his teammates finishing in the top 30 to help UT-Dallas in the team scoring.