Uzelac sets JBU program record

FAYETTEVILLE -- For the fifth time already in his career, sophomore Josh Uzelac set a program record, this time with a mark of 25 minutes, 41 seconds, helping the John Brown University men's cross country team to a 29th place finish at the 2016 edition of the Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday at Experimental Farms at Agri Park.

Uzelac's last program benchmark was set at the #JennaStrong Fall Classic in Wilmington, Ohio, last season. There, he posted a time of 25:47, which he bested by six seconds on Saturday. Uzelac now owns five of the program's top-10 all-time finishes.

Uzelac's mark was good enough for 53rd place overall, helping the Golden Eagles to a time of 2:16:53, its best eight-kilometer pace this season. The University of Arkansas captured the team title with a time of 1:59:04, powered by the Razorbacks' Alex George, who earned the individual medal with a 23:32 finish.

John Brown posted the seventh-best time of all NAIA institutions and turned in faster times than NCAA II programs such as Arkansas - Ft. Smith and Christian Brothers (Tenn.). JBU also beat out Sooner Athletic teams Texas Wesleyan and St. Gregory's (Okla.).

Sophomore Jacob Benjamin bested his season high by 23 seconds, crossing the finish line at 26:39 to grab 113th place. Senior Levi Nordmeyer earned 198th place with a 27:56 mark while freshman Elliott Pearson finished in 208th after a 28:07 mark. Junior Justin Riffel rounded out JBU's top five with a 223rd-place finish in a time of 28:30.

All five scoring runners for John Brown set season-bests.

Women

Sophomore Carly Coney captured a 130th place finish, leading the John Brown University women's cross country team to a 30th place finish of 40 teams.

Coney's time of 20:03 bested her previous season best by nearly 20 seconds. The University of Arkansas defended its home turf, taking home the title with a team time of 1:22:41 while the University of Missouri's Karissa Schweizer turned in a time of 16:09 to capture the individual championship.

The Golden Eagles team time of 1:45:23 bested NCAA II institutions such as Arkansas-Fort Smith and Christian Brothers (Tenn.).

Sophomore Reagan Roth crossed the finish line at 20:54 to nab 175th place while senior Abbie Melby's 179th place finish came as a result of a 21:06 time. Junior Annie Brown locked down 181st place with a 21:09 time and sophomore Haley Newcomb's time of 22:08 earned her 212th place in the field of 308 runners.

Both JBU teams return to action on Saturday at the University of the Ozarks (Ark.) Invitational in Clarksville.

Sports on 10/05/2016