Hjortkjaer Paces Warriors at Chile Pepper Festival

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Midland University competed at one of the largest cross country events in the nation, the Chile Pepper XC Festival, on Saturday morning in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Hosted by the University of Arkansas, the meet featured athletes racing over grass, cinder, and uneven terrain, with roughly 6,500 competitors from across the United States.

Running in the Prairie Fire Pepper 8k race, the Warrior men placed 15th. The women finished 20th in the Prairie Fire Pepper 5k race.

Lucas Hjortkjaer continued his strong season for Midland, finishing 11th overall with a time of 25:59.6. He was followed by sophomores Brayden Taylor (27:41.6, 54th), Koen Steenblok (29:25.0, 124th), Christian Olsen (29:37.7, 133rd), and Jay Stoa III (32:33.3, 211th). Freshman Preston Penney, competing in his second collegiate meet, finished in 32:16.1 for 207th place.

On the women's side, sophomore Maddie Bergstrom (21:09.5) and freshman Bridget Meier (21:10.0) led the Warriors, placing 101st and 102nd, respectively. Danika Leuenberger followed in 111th place with a time of 21:27.9. Other competitors for Midland included Carly Carstens (22:05.1, 138th), Belinda Jepkemboi (23:27.1, 187th), Delaine Tally (24:09.8, 201st) and Judy Chepkorir (24:24.6, 203rd).

The Warriors will compete in their final regular-season meet on Oct. 17 in Ashland, Nebraska, before starting postseason meets with the GPAC Championship, also in Ashland, on Nov. 8.