The cross country team participated in the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival on Sept. 28. The boys placed 14 out of 95 and the girls placed 23 out of 75. 

The cross country teams go out of state every other year according to LISD policy. Edwards said his main inspiration to attend the Chile Pepper run was that collegiate athletes, like those from the Arkansas Razorbacks team that has won 12 NCAA team championships, also participate in the event. The cross country team witnessed the Razorbacks run and win first place in both categories. Allegedly, the colleges race right after the high schools.

“You get to see collegiate athletes run after you,” Edwards said. “You also see them do the warmups and set up their tents. In any other run, you really wouldn’t be able to witness that.”

Boys senior runner Elijiah Rivera-Campos placed fifth out of 731 boys in the individual 5K, with a time of 15 minutes and 17 seconds. He achieved the highest placement out of the school’s cross country team at the meet. 

”I wanted third,” Rivera-Campos said. “I was pushing hard in those last 600 meters, but I just didn’t have enough juice. It got to me a bit, but I know I’ve always got to be proud of what I do because you never know what will happen or what [a race] will mean to you.

Girls sophomore runner Lillie Ybarra improved on her personal record of 20 minutes and 3 seconds, running a new time of 19 minutes and 50 seconds. 

“Every course is different,” Ybarra said. “Each has its challenges to get over, and I had to face [this one] head on. I told myself, ‘You can’t slow down now, you’re already this far into the race.’ That helped me push through to that [personal record].” 

Edwards said that although the scenery was pretty, a common obstacle encountered by multiple runners was a 300-meter hill in the course.  The downhill section had tree roots that runners had to dodge.

”They were tough downhills,” Rivera-Campos said. “[The hills] were probably the second hardest challenge, other than the dust being kicked into my face by the four wheeler ahead of us.”

Ybarra said the weather was great for running because runners could get to a comfortable temperature as they sped up, greatly helping with their lack of fatigue from overly hot or cold conditions. The cross country team practiced specifically for the downhills at the Chile Pepper Run to prevent falling. This is Ybarra’s first out-of-state competition.

“We were trying to run fast, but also trying hard not to fall on our faces,” Ybarra said. “[Coach Edwards] wanted us to press downhill. We were leaning forward and sprinting down the hills, but we were also watching our steps because there were [a lot of] branches.

The next time the track team can go out of state is in 2026, but the team is still unsure of where they will go.

“We want to go back to the Chile Pepper meet,” Edwards said. “The team’s performance was good, so we might [return] in 2026.”