FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Freshmen LILY BURTON and ABIGAIL PINON delivered the two fastest 5K performances in St. Edward's women's cross country history Saturday, leading a young Hilltopper team to its second-best finish ever at the Chile Pepper XC Festival.
Burton crossed the finish line in 17:59.7 to become the first Hilltopper woman in program history to break 18 minutes in the 5K, finishing 72nd overall and 67th among scoring runners. Pinon followed only 2.6 seconds later in 18:02.3, giving St. Edward's the top two times in its record book in the same race.
Both surpassed the previous program record of 18:14.2 set by MIA RIVERA at last year's Texas A&M Invitational.
The performances continued a rapid ascent for Burton, who emerged as St. Edward's top runner at the Texas A&M Invitational three weeks ago with an 18:36.5. She shaved nearly 37 seconds off that performance Saturday while Pinon emerged alongside her to give the Hilltoppers a freshman tandem at the front of the pack.
Behind them, St. Edward's finished 16th in a 28-team field loaded with NCAA Division I competition, its second-best team finish in six appearances at the Chile Pepper Festival.
Sophomore BRIANNE VASQUEZ gave St. Edward's a third runner under 18:40, finishing in 18:38.3. Senior Adriana Rodriguez followed in 18:40.8, and freshman EMMELINE SHAW completed the scoring five in 18:41.2.
Only 2.9 seconds separated Vasquez, Rodriguez and Shaw, giving the Hilltoppers a tightly packed group behind their record-setting freshman duo.
St. Edward's finished with 478 points and an average scoring time of 18:24. The Hilltoppers also placed ahead of Lone Star Conference opponent UT Tyler, which finished 17th with 533 points after entering the season picked second in the conference preseason poll.
Junior VICTORIA HOYT added an 18:59.1 to give St. Edward's six runners under 19 minutes. Freshmen AVA BRILEY and Julia Gainar rounded out the Hilltopper lineup in 19:29.9 and 19:50.8, respectively.
Saturday represented another significant step forward for a St. Edward's roster built around youth. Three freshmen — Burton, Pinon and Shaw — accounted for three of the five scoring positions, with Burton establishing herself at the front for the second consecutive meet.
The Hilltoppers entered the season with just four returners on a nine-runner roster and were picked seventh in the LSC preseason poll. Three races into the season, that rebuilt lineup now owns the two fastest 5K performances in program history and has finished ahead of a conference opponent picked five spots above it.
Arkansas won the team title with 69 points, followed by Mississippi State with 83 and Tulsa with 89. Arkansas freshman Braelyn Combe won the individual title in 15:59.0.
St. Edward's returns to competition Oct. 17 in Dallas for its final scheduled race before the Lone Star Conference Championships on Nov. 7 in Lubbock.
