FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Drury men's and women's cross country teams placed 15^th out of 30 and 23^rd out of 29 teams at the Chile Pepper Festival.
 
The men's cross country team ran an 8K and placed 15^th out of 30 teams overall, and fifth out of 11 NCAA Division II programs. Tyler Harris was the frontrunner for the Panthers, finishing 21^st with a personal best of 24:36.9. The performance improved his third-fastest time in school history by 10 seconds. Topi Alahuhta was second for Drury, placing 86^th overall with a final time of 25:30.5. Ethan Haynes was once again a top performer for the Panthers, finishing 102^ndwith a season-best 25:45.4. 
 
The women's cross country team competed in a 5K and placed 23^rd out of 29 teams overall. Cera Eckenroth was once again the frontrunner for the Panthers, finishing 69^th with a time of 18:16.3. Behind her was Josie Diffendaffer, who placed 85^th with a time of 18:30.7. Diffendaffer's time ranks as the 11^th-fastest 5K in school history. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Tyler Harris improved his third-fastest 8K in school history, going from 24:47.6 to 24:36.9.  
• Topi Alahuhta placed 86^th (25:30.5) and Ethan Haynes placed 102^nd (25:45.4).
• Gabe Bauer finished 120^th (25:59.3) and Tion McLeish finished 133^rd (26:08.7) to round out the top five.
• Cera Eckenroth led the women with a 69^th-place finish (18:16.3).
• Josie Diffendaffer moved into the 11^th-fastest time in school history (18:30.7).
• Georgi Carolus finished 136^th (19:20.1), Jasmyn Douglas finished 145^th (19:27.5), and Ashley Sexton finished 148^th (19:36.3) to round out the top five.

 
UP NEXT
Drury competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Championship on Oct. 25 in Romeoville, Ill. The championship is set to start at 9:15 a.m.

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