JEREMY WAMBUGU

UTEP Cross Country Posts 11 Personal Bests at 40th Lori Fitzgerald Invitational Saturday Morning

9/19/2026 12:17:00 PM

FINAL RESULTS LINK: https://915timing.com

EL PASO – UTEP hosted the 40^th Lori Fitzgerald Invitational for the first time in seven seasons, as the Miners turned in 11 personal-best times Saturday morning at Ascarate Park. The men's and women's squads won the team titles.

Juan Leal won the men's 8K, while Nathan Kapel and Paul Rotich rounded out the top three finishers. Salma Licon was third overall in the women's 5K.

"I'm really proud of the way our men and women competed today. It was a great competitive showing by the Miners, and to come away with wins on both sides while seeing so many of our student-athletes run personal bests is exciting. We wanted to take another step forward from our first meet, and I think we accomplished that today," second-year UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "Coach Herbert is doing a great job preparing this group and continuing to raise the expectations for our cross country program. You can see the work they've been putting in and the confidence they're starting to build as a team."

On the women's side, the Miners won the team title with 35 points. Licon turned in a personal-best time of 18:31.08, placing third overall. Ashlyn McMillan clocked a PR of 18:39.79, finishing fourth. Sofia Ramirez posted a personal-best time of 19:16.65 and was eighth. Mia Hariston registered a PR of 19:17.97 for a ninth-place showing. Vallary Kiplagat (19:40.72) was 11^th, followed by Aubrey Arsenault in 13^th after posting a PR of 19:49.63. Brenda Jerop (20:19.45, 16^th), Kissleine Casarez also turned in a PR of 20:33.37 to place 18^th. Isabella Campa recorded a personal-best time of 20:43.21 and placed 19^th, and Bobbi Guillen (21:13.63, 22^nd) rounded out the order of finish.

The men's squad dominated the field with a team victory (17 points) as Leal posted a personal-best time of 24:17.50 to win the men's 8k race. Kapel was second with a time of 24:18.14, and Rotich clocked 24:22.84 to finish third. Carmelo Corral was sixth with a personal-best time of 24:53.12; Israel Quintana was seventh with a PR time of 25:05.38, and Julian Franco was eighth (25:19.21) in his first collegiate race. Jacob Yeager was 15^th with a PR time of 25:59.72, Ameen Ibrahim finished 18^th (26:28.59), Sabastian Mendez was 21^st (26:50.54), and Frankie Medina was 34^th (35:29.55).

For Ibrahim, Mendez, and Medina, it was their first collegiate 8K race.

"We're also extremely thankful to Ascarate Park for hosting us and providing a great environment for our student-athletes to compete. There are so many people working behind the scenes to make a home meet happen, and we truly appreciate everyone who gave their time and effort to help make today a success," Green said. "Now we turn our attention to what's next. Our men will prepare for the Chili Pepper Invitational next week in Arkansas, while our women will continue training and preparing for the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station in two weeks. Both groups have great opportunities ahead of them to continue challenging themselves and building on the momentum we created today."

UP NEXT
UTEP returns to the course to compete at Arkansas' Chili Pepper Festival on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Fayetteville, Ark.

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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