“To win this race, it says a lot about him, he’s having a great year,” said Thane Garnett, College Heights Christian’s cross country coach. “He was pretty determined to finish well in this race, and I think he showed it.”

In the girls invitational, Greenhill High’s (near Dallas, Texas) Chelsey Sveinsson won for the third straight year with a time of 17:32.71. Sveinsson, a senior, is one of the top long-distance runners in Texas and is hopeful she can continue doing so next year on a collegiate scholarship.

“This is one of the races that I look forward to the most during the season,” said Sveinsson, who was disappointed with her finishing time. “I really just wasn’t feeling it, but like my mom told me, I’m just happy again to win it.”

Fayetteville’s boys team finished fifth overall with 261 points while Bentonville’s girls team finished sixth with 206 points.

Fayetteville’s Austin Simkins had the highest finish among area competitors, finishing sixth with a time of 16:06.19. Elkins’ Grace Heymsfield also finished fifth with a time of 18:24.48.

2009 Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival

“The key is to win the conference tournament and have the opportunity for seeds in the state tournament,” Pautsch said.

The 7A-West Conference Tournament will be held Oct. 12-13 at Rogers.

Off And Running

Rogers High cross country coach Carlton Efurd said his Mounties “didn’t run extremely well” in the opening meet of the season at the Memphis Twilight.

Senior Jeremiah Fleeman, a two-time all-state runner, was the Mounties’ top finisher at 13th in a time of 16 minutes, 35 seconds.

“He’s been there (state meet) before,” Efurd said. “He’s our most experienced guy back.”

Rogers, the defending 7A state champion, finished sixth in the event, which included schools from six different states.

Martin Resendiz and Danny Saldana also ran at the state meet a year ago and finished 28th and 39th, respectively at the opener.

Efurd was not unhappy with the Mounties first meet performance.

“I’m fairly well pleased … I think that was a good start,” Efurd said. “We’re headed in the right direction. Some young guys ran some poor meets strategically. But they were excited. They went out way too hard and died the last mile or two.”

The Lady Mounties also finished sixth led by Ericka Owen’s 22nd place finish.

Solid Start

The Springdale Har-Ber girls golf team has done well to replace its top two players from a year ago.

The Lady Wildcats have lost only to defending 7A state champion Fayetteville in four matches this season.

Junior Taylor Kline is the No. 1 player, followed by seniors Lauren Zulpo and Kaitlyn Vogel. That trio has been the consistent scorers in the play five, count three format for Har-Ber, which finished fourth in the state tournament last season.

Har-Ber coach Tim Aynes said Kline, who averages in the 80s for 18 holes, has been “pretty good off the tee box.”

“She’s a pretty good ball striker and gets very good distance,” Aynes said. “But her putting is what she’s had the most trouble with.”

Vogel, who has a season best score of 45 for nine holes, has been a welcome addition, Aynes said.

“I got a call in July from a girl who was interested in playing,” Aynes said. “She had been home-schooled, but she had started with First Tee. I’ve been real pleased.”

Morning News Sports Editor Chip Souza and sportswriter Nathan Allen break down all the gridiron action in the revamped, visual PrepCast.

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