FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. The Kansas State women’s cross country team placed ninth out of a competitive field of 31 on Saturday at the Chile Pepper Invitational Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The Southern Methodist women finished first, tallying 67 points. The men's squad finished in 11th place, totaling 359 points. Arkansas won the men's team award after tallying 33 points.

Senior Trisha Culbertson paced the Wildcats as she recorded a 30th-place finish with a time of 22:02.10. She shattered her previous season-best time on a 6,000-meter course by more than five minutes. Her previous best was a 27:07.00 showing at the Wildcat Invitational back on Sept. 11.

Junior Christina Lara finished 50th and senior Shauna Burrell finished 58th with times of 22:29.10 and 22:40.10, respectively. It was Lara’s second race this season, but first on a 6,000-meter course. Burrell broke her season best of 23:31.40 on a 6,000-meter course, which she set at the Wildcat Invitational. Crossing the line three seconds after Burrell was Cate Holston, whose 61st-place, 22:43.2 showing was also her best this season on the 6,000-meter course.

Lysaira Roman-Del Valle was the fifth scorer for the women’s squad after registering a 89th-place finish. She completed the 6,000-meter course in 23:16.9.

The top male competitor for K-State was Tyler Roark. Roark recorded at 45rd-place finish after running a time of 31:28.8. Finishing behind Roark for the Wildcats was Joseph Moore who registered a 48th placed finished with a 31:31.7 performance.

Other scorers for the men’s team were, Micha Gamper, Trevor Smith, and Hiral Bhakta. Gamper ran a 31:53.4 to finish 63rd. Smith completed the course in 32:35.5 to place him 97th. Bhakta placed 106th after a time of 32:49.6.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams are off next week as they prepare for the 2004 Big 12 Cross Country Championships. Kansas State will host the conference championships, in Topeka, Kan., on Oct. 30.

Chile Pepper Invitational

Saturday, Oct. 16

Fayetteville, Ark.

Men's Team Scores

1. Arkansas, 33; 2. Arkansas Alumni, 80; 3. Rice, 183; 4. LSU 190; 5. Loyola, 193; 11. Kansas State, 359.

Men's Individual Results

1. Josphat Boit, Arkansas, 29:22.7, 45. Tyler Roark, Kansas State, 31:28.8; 48. Joe Moore, Kansas State, 31:31.7; 63. Micha Gamper, Kansas State, 31:53.5; 97. Trevor Smith, Kansas State, 32:35.5; 106. Hiral Bhakta, Kansas State, 32:49.6; 112. Alex Sawyer, Kansas State, 32:55.4.

Women's Team Scores

1. Southern Methodist, 67; 2. Arkansas, 76; 3. Wyoming, 158; 4. Oklahoma, 193; 5. UAB, 214; 9. Kansas State, 288.

Women's Individual Results

1. Mirriam Kaumba, Unattached, 20:25.4; 30. Trisha Culbertson, Kansas State, 22:02.1; 50. Christina Lara, Kansas State, 22:29.1; 58. Shauna Burrell, Kansas State, 22:40.1; 61. Cate Holston, Kansas State, 22:43.2; 89. Lysaira Roman-Del Valle, Kansas State, 23:16.9; 92. Tina Todd, Kansas State, 23:17.9; 107. Whitney Patton, Kansas State, 23:28.1.