Mississippi State Cross Country Joins Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville

Fayetteville, Ark. – Mississippi State’s women’s cross country team will compete Saturday at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Bulldogs are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama, on Sept. 18, according to team sources.

MSU will send 11 runners to participate in the 5K race, scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Central Time. Naomi Jepleting and Milicent Kemboi lead the team after impressive performances at the Southern Showcase. Kemboi finished 11th and clocked the third-fastest 5K time in MSU history at 16:47.7. Jepleting placed 16th with a time of 17:11.6.

Freshmen Larkin Johnson and Lillian Overby made their collegiate debuts at the last meet. Johnson finished third among the Bulldogs with a time of 17:43.6. Returning runners Brooklyn Quanz and Kaitlyn Burge also competed earlier this season. Quanz finished fifth among State’s runners in 17:53.9, while Burge set a personal best at 17:44.2.

The team also includes Mallory Streetman, Gabrielle Boulay, Berit Janowitz, Morgan Grace Sheffield, and Sophie Santucci. Santucci recorded a personal best of 19:10.6 in the season opener, according to team reports.

For updates on the Mississippi State cross country and track programs, follow the team on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram by searching for “HailStateTF.”

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