UTEP Cross Country’s Kapel Takes Second, Men Finish Third Overall at Arkansas’ Chile Pepper Festival Saturday

10/3/2026 11:18:00 AM

RESULTS

FAYETTVILLE, Ark. – UTEP's Nathan Kapel clocked 24:02.9 to place second, and the men's cross country team finished third at the 38^th annual Chile Pepper Festival, hosted by Arkansas on Saturday at Agri Park.

Kapel was second among 267 competitors in the college men's "McDonnell Memorial" 8K. The UTEP men's squad was third overall of 26 teams with 137 points, finishing behind first-place Texas (64 points) and North Texas (103 points). Kapel was a hair away from getting the win in the great sprint finish. He really closed on the winner at the end and needed a few extra feet.

"I'm really proud of the way our men competed today. We came here wanting to challenge ourselves against a strong field and run aggressively, and I thought our guys embraced that from the start. Finishing third as a team is a positive result, but what I'm most encouraged by is the way we competed and the growth we continue to see throughout this group," second-year UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "Nathan gave us a tremendous performance up front, and throughout our lineup we had guys step up and compete for one another. That's what we need as we continue moving toward the championship portion of our season. Coach Herbert has done a great job preparing this group and continuing to build their confidence and expectations. There are still things we can clean up, and that's exactly why we wanted to come to a meet like Chile Pepper. We wanted to be tested. We learned more about ourselves today, and now we'll get back to work and keep building. I really like the direction this group is headed."

Paul Rotich finished 10^th with a time of 24:29.4. Juan Leal finished 42^nd (25:27.3), Israel Quintana placed 44^th (25:28.0), Carmelo Corral was 45^th (25:28.2), Jacob Yeager was 76^th (PR 25:58.4), Julian Franco was 83^rd (26:01.9), Ameen Ibrahim was 108^th (26:24.5), Frankie Medina was 111^th (26:26.8) and Sebastian Mendez was 163^rd (27:14.4).

"Really strong, aggressive run from the group today. Nathan was a hair away from getting the win in a great sprint finish. He really closed on the winner at the end, just needed a few extra feet. Paul finished 10th with one of his best performances ever," UTEP assistant coach Justin Herbert said. "Juan, Israel, and Carmelo packed up and really did some group work for the team. They all finished within a second of each other, and that type of team effort will serve us well down the line. Also, Jacob's 25:58 is the best race of his career. Julian rounded out the top seven with a 26:01. Some of the younger guys didn't have their best race today, but we came here with the goal of being aggressive and they executed the race plan well, so I expect us to continue to improve over the next few weeks."

UP NEXT
The Miners wrap up regular-season action at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16, before competing at the 2026 Mountain West Cross Country Championships in Reno, Nev., on Halloween.

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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