(October 4, 2025) Fayetteville, Arkansas - After a few weeks off, the Bucks hit the road on Saturday morning for the Chile Pepper Festival. Like years past, the men have competed in the Prairie Fire Pepper 8K that consist of NCAA DII, NAIA, and NJCAA competition. This was also an opportunity for the men to compete against other Region 2 teams.

Overall, the Bucks finished 19th in the race out of 25 total teams and 257 competitors. The men finished 3rd against NJCAA Region 2 competition. 

The Bucks had a pair of runner finish the 8K race in under 30 minutes. Eytan Mirie (Toronto, Ontario) & Aiden Kimp (Mena, AR) each ran a 28:58.8 and 29:40.2, respectively. Those times were good enough for 103rd and 135th overall. Kimp set a personal record in the race.

Alfred Rodriguez (Dalhart, TX) & Julio Alfonso Grano (Waldron, AR) both finished just above the 30 minute mark with 30:09.2 and 30:45.0 times. Rodriguez finished 156th overall while running a season's best time, while Grano placed 172nd. 

The rest of the Bucks finished as follows:

182nd - Ethan Mazzola (Benton, AR) - 31:00.1 - personal record

198th - Noah Burns (Weatherford, TX) - 31:36.9 - season record

217th - Hunter Solomon (Nederland, TX) - 32:58.2 - personal record

219th - Landon Defoor (Waldron, AR) - 33:06.1 

Complete race results can be found at https://flashresults.com/2026_Meets/xc/ChilePepper/007-1_compiled.htm. 

The Bucks compete again on October 17th at Mississippi College. 

#DefendTheMountain