FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - It was a day filled with season-best performances for West Alabama, highlighted by a strong fourth-place team finish from the Tigers' men at the Chile Pepper Festival in Arkansas.
The men took the starting line for the 8K at 11:25 a.m. and showed the depth of their roster despite the absences of Sha'Kenye Darden and Jonathan Phillips. With several Tigers producing their best performances of the season, West Alabama secured fourth place in the team standings, finishing just 15 points away from the podium.
Leading the way were the Tigers' French duo, Mathis Breton and Lorenzo Pelusi.
Breton crossed the line in fifth place with a time of 26:02, closely followed by Pelusi in sixth at 26:06. The two West Alabama participants delivered patient and controlled races. After initially settling around 15th position, they worked together and gradually moved through the field, picking off competitors one by one on their way to their best performances of the season.
Behind them, Julian Council added another strong performance for West Alabama, finishing 30th in 27:42 and recording a season best of his own.
"I gave everything I had today," Council said after the race. "I ran 20 seconds faster than I did on the same course last year, so it's another step forward. I'm looking forward to getting back, recovering, and getting to work for the three weeks we have before our next race."
The strong performances continued throughout the Tigers' lineup. Wilbur Valencia-Nava finished 44th in 27:51, while Ray Englebert crossed the line in 60th with a time of 28:20. Both runners also recorded season-best performances, another encouraging sign for West Alabama with the conference championships now five weeks away.
Tigers Women Continue the Season-Best Trend
At 12:10 p.m., it was the women's turn to attack the 5K course, and the season-best performances kept coming, with UWAÂ moving closer to breaking the 20-minute barrier.
Abby Vega led West Alabama across the line, finishing 68th in 20:15. In her first cross-country season wearing the West Alabama colors, Vega continued to demonstrate her potential with another strong performance.
Rita Walker was right behind her, finishing 70th in 20:19.
Julia Gosline followed with a 20:57 performance to take 101st place, while Laurel Morse finished 162nd in 22:43. Like Vega and Walker, both produced their best performances of the season.
Miriam Dominguez-Tellez entered the race not feeling at her best, but still battled her way to a solid 21:11 and 117th-place finish. Rather than allowing a difficult day to take over her race, she remained focused on competing all the way to the line, and is already looking toward the next opportunity to show her full potential.
"I could feel that things weren't going very well," Dominguez-Tellez said. "So I fought and stayed focused on finishing the race no matter what. When things get tough, you have to be even tougher."
With season-best performances spread throughout both squads and the men finishing just 15 points away from the podium, the Tigers leave the weekend with another clear sign of progress.
Now, the focus turns to the Chargers XC Invitational which is set for October 24.
