Pierce earns college cross country weekly honor
(Courtesy photo) College of the Ozarks freshman Garrett Pierce won a weekly cross country honor for his performance in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Former Sandpoint cross country runner Garrett Pierce, who now competes for the College of the Ozarks, was named Monday as the Association of Independent Institutions Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Week.
Pierce, a freshman, led the Bobcats this week with a time of 27:35.4, competing in only his second collegiate 8K race. Pierce finished 197th of the 441 runners in the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which featured numerous NCAA teams such as the SEC’s Arkansas, Wichita State, Dallas Baptist and North Texas.
On Saturday, despite soggy course conditions, Pierce took 7.5 seconds off the finish time of his first collegiate 8K run last week in Joplin, Missouri.
This was the 30th Anniversary of the Chile Pepper Festival, featuring 49 men’s and 51 women’s collegiate teams in addition to 100-plus high school teams running in separate races. The race day was rain-free, but the University of Arkansas’ off-road course, where the run was held, was quite soggy from previous weather conditions.
The Bobcats placed 42nd of 49 teams. The team will have a break in the action, with their next race scheduled for the St. Ambrose University Invitational on Oct. 6 in Bettendorf, Iowa.
n Bailey 15th in race for Yotes
LA GRANDE, Ore. — Former Sandpoint runner Ciera Bailey finished 15th overall as the College of Idaho cross country team took the title at the Eastern Oregon Twilight at Lane Farms last weekend.
Competing on a 5,000-meter course the Yotes edged rival Northwest Nazarene by just two points. Bailey clocked a 21:02, just missing out on a scoring position in her freshman campaign.
The Yotes will return to action in two weeks at the Steven Reeder Memorial in Logan, Utah.
Bailey also raced recently in Twin Falls at Canyon Springs Golf Course, where she was 36th overall, and 7th for her team on what she described as an extremely hot afternoon, with temps over 90 degrees at race time. Her team finished 3rd out of six, behind much larger schools like the University of Utah and Weber State.