UTEP Cross Country Clocks 10 Personal-Best Times as the Miners Finish the Regular Season at the Arturo Barrios Invitational Friday Morning

10/16/2026 1:37:00 PM

RESULTS: MEN 8K | WOMEN 6K

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The UTEP men's cross country team recorded six personal bests, and the women turned in four more as the Miners wrapped up the regular season at the prestigious Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course on Friday morning.

In a field of more than 369 competitors, UTEP's Paul Rotich paced the Miners with a personal-best time of 23:52.0, finishing 40^th overall in the men's 8K. Nathan Kapel was 50^th with a time of 23:57.9. Juan Leal was 52^nd with a personal-best time of 23:58.9. Jacob Yeager posted a PR 24:50.7 (149^th), Carmelo Corral (24:56.4) was 156^th, Julian Franco turned in a personal-best 25:18.9 (193^rd), Israel Quintana (25:24.5) was 205^th, Sebastian Mendez clocked a PR 26:04.5 (278^th), Ameen Ibrahim recorded a personal-best time of 26:11.7 (286^th), and Frankie Medina was 294^th (26:16.6).

The UTEP men's team finished 15^th of 38 programs with 402 points. Adams State (42 points) dominated to take the team title. App State placed second (144), and Houston (173) was third. San Francisco (180), host Texas A&M (192), Arizona State (203), Cal Poly (238), UIW (314), Ohio State (315) and TCU (328) rounded out the top 10 finishers.

"I thought we saw some encouraging performances from both groups today," second-year UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "Our men continue to show progress, improving from 18th at this meet last year to 15th this year. Seeing that improvement, along with so many personal bests, is a positive sign of the work this group has been putting in. We're continuing to build depth and confidence, and I like the direction our men are headed."

Texas Tech's Titus Kimaru won the men's individual title with a 22:43.1, while Texas A&M's Michael Moiben (22:51.2) and Adams State's Thibault Tauziede (22:59.9) rounded out the top three finishers.

Ashlyn McMillan clocked a 21:33.6 and finished as the top Miner on the women's side, placing 162^nd of 403 competitors. Salma Licon posted a PR of 21:48.0 (196^th). Mia Hairston (22:51.0) was 304^th, Brenda Jerop (22:59.5) was 314^th, Sofia Ramirez turned in a personal-best time of 23:01.1 (317^th), Kissleine Casarez (23:07.2) was 323^rd, Aubrey Arsenault (23:40.6) was 343^rd, Isabella Campa posted a PR of 23:58.7 (358^th), and Bobbi Guillen finished with a personal-best time of 25:09.4 (382^nd).

Freshmen Arsenault, Casarez, Hairston, and McMillan competed in their first collegiate 6K events.

"On the women's side, while the overall team finish wasn't where we wanted it to be, there were some encouraging individual performances and signs of improvement in how we competed together," Green said. "It's important that we recognize those positives while also understanding there are areas where we need to continue getting better."

The UTEP women's team placed 42^nd (of 46) with 1,127 points. No. 27 Arkansas won the women's title (101 points), edging out EKU (122) and Tulane (136).

"To come out here today and put three men under 24 minutes and two more under 25, it just shows the work they're putting in. Paul, Juan, Jacob, Carmelo, Julian, and Sebastian all turned in PRs today," UTEP assistant Justin Herbert said. "Ashlyn led us for the first time, running 21:33 in her 6K race. Salma was close behind in a personal best of 21:47. Mia, Brenda, and Sofia ran in a tight pack to round out the scoring five, all finishing within 10 seconds of each other. Kissleine is working her way into that group as well! We've talked about pack running all year, so it's nice to see that coming to fruition. Brenda's performance was especially nice to see as she's really struggled with injuries over the last couple of years."

EKU's Edna Cheluei won the women's individual championship with a time of 18:42.1. Arkansas' Isca Chelangat (18:46.1) and EKU's Brighter Jepchumba (18:47.6) rounded out the top three finishers.

"As we head into the championship portion of our season, the expectation is to continue raising our level of competition," Green said. "We've talked all year about challenging ourselves, trusting the work, and competing for one another. Now it's about putting everything together when it matters most. I'm proud of the individual progress we're seeing, but we have bigger goals for this program, and we're going to keep working toward them."

UP NEXT
UTEP will compete at the 2026 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Reno, Nev.

For complete coverage of UTEP Track & Field/Cross Country, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPTrack (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.

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