Kimeli, Ennasri Finish in Top 15 at Chile Pepper

Saturday, October 3

Fayetteville, AR

TBA

Baylor

Chile Pepper Festival

Kimeli, Ennasri Finish in Top 15 at Chile Pepper

10/3/2026 6:29:00 PM | Cross Country

XC women place eighth out of 30 teams in Arkansas meet

Chile Pepper Festival Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Despite last-minute travel changes, the Baylor women's cross country team had a strong showing at Saturday's Chile Pepper Festival, finishing eighth out of 30 teams in the Harter's Habanero 5K at Agri Park.

The leader at the mile split and second through the first 3,500 meters, junior Ruth Kimeli recorded her second-straight top-10 finish, placing fourth in a PR time of 16:05.2 and six seconds behind overall winner Braelyn Combe of Arkansas.

Making her Baylor debut, Eastern Kentucky transfer Khadija Ennasri finished 14^th in the field of 256 runners with a time of 16:52.3. The Bears' other scoring runners were Ella Perry (36^th, 17:28.9), Rickeisha Simms (55^th, 17:48.6) and Mackenize Browne (113^th, 18:31.0).

The host Arkansas team was first with 69 points, followed by Mississippi State (83), Tulsa (89) and UT-Arlington (178). Baylor was eighth with 202 points, 24 points out of fourth, and finished ahead of Southern Mississippi, Oral Roberts, Memphis and Little Rock, among others.

"I was proud of how the teams competed after changing meets this weekend," Baylor coach David Barnett said of the team pivoting from the Nike XC Town Twilight when the flight to Terre Haute, Ind., got canceled. "Ruth and Khadija ran exceptionally well, and we are one woman away from having a very competitive team."

Sophomores Eva Jacobsen and Rachel Haws rounded out the Baylor runners on the women's side, placing 119^th and 123^rd, respectively.

Running a full team for the first time since the season-opening meet, the Baylor men were 16^th (out of 29 teams) with 420 points. Junior Jack Sterrett was in his usual lead position for the Bears, placing 43^rd in the McDonnell Memorial 8K race with a time of 25:27.9, followed by freshman Matthew King in 54^th at 25:39.0.

Senior Straton Miller was Baylor's third runner, placing 79^th at 25:59.3, followed by junior Caden Biltz (128^th, 26:40.7) and freshman Caleb Larsen (157^th, 27:04.3).

"The men will continue to work to put together a better result in two weeks at Texas A&M," Barnett said.

Baylor will close out the regular season with the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16, at Texas A&M's Watts Cross Country Course in College Station.

For the latest news on the Baylor cross country team all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.