Sooners Break Records at Chile Pepper

NORMAN, Okla The Oklahoma Sooners women's cross country team finished fourth and the men's team finished eighth at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday.

Sophomore Jessica Eldridge broke her own 6K school record by 34 seconds, finishing in 20 minutes, 56 seconds. Eldridge finished fourth overall.

“Jessica was excellent once again,” OU head coach Rodney Rothoff said. “The lead pack got away from her at the two-mile mark but she maintained her position for the remainder of the race.”

Women's Team Standings | Men's Team Standings | Individual Standings

Sophomore Jason Coleman led the men, breaking his own personal record in the 10K race with a run of 30:26. That mark ties the tenth-fastest time in school history.

“Jason ran a lot better and competed better than he has in the past,” Rothoff said. “It is exciting to see this effort out of him just before the conference meet.”

Southern Methodist won the women's 6K and host Arkansas dominated the men's race.

Sophomore Nicola Maye was the second Sooner woman to cross the finish line, finishing 25^th in 21:53. She was followed by scorers Aja Clark (45^th, 22:21), Catherine Odell (49^th, 22:27) and Jackie Dubois (70^th, 22:55). Andrea Bonner (23:25), Julie Swagerty (24:04) and Emily Leonard (27:04) also competed.

“Aja and Jackie ran very good races today,” Rothoff said. “Overall, I'm happy with the team's effort and I'm excited about how we can do once we get everyone to click on the same day.”

Besides Eldridge's school record, Clark, Odell and Dubois all set personal records.

Sophomore Tyler Schmiedeberg finished as the second Sooner man in 31^st with a run of 31:01. He was trailed by Salah Hussein (41^st, 31:15), Andrew Call (72^nd, 32:05), Jason Penland (81^st, 32:13), Blake Culp (84^th, 32:16) and Billy Grona (111^th, 32:54). John Mullholland also completed the event in 33:04.

“Salah had a breakthrough performance,” Rothoff said, “and Tyler's run was also very solid. We competed better as a team and learned a lot of things we can use next time at the Big 12 meet.”

The men's top seven runners all broke personal records.

The Sooners next travel to Topeka, Kan., for the Big 12 Championships, Oct. 30, hosted by Kansas State University.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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