BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University men's and women's cross country teams are heading to Fayetteville, Ark., for the highly competitive Chile Pepper Festival Saturday, hosted by the University of Arkansas. This is the first trip to Fayetteville in two years for the Cardinal squads. 
 
The Cardinals opened their season back on Sep. 12th at Northwestern State for the Pre-Southland Conference meet. Both teams secured a top-three finish, with the men taking second with 60 points while the women third with 88. Big Red also had three top-10s as Ashton Rainey (14:31.6) was fifth in the women's 4,000 meters while Adrian Hahn Vadstein (19:01.78) and Andres Padron (19:06.01) placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in the men's 6K.

Host school Arkansas will field the 19th-ranked men's and 22nd-ranked women's cross country teams in each race. Lamar is one of 68 teams running in this meet. Among the other teams competing are fellow Southland Conference foes East Texas A&M and Stephen F. Austin. In addition, the women's field has one nationally ranked team in No. 30 Tulane. 
 
The men will open the day by competing in the McDonnell Memorial 8K, which will start at 10:25 a.m. The women follow as they will run the Harter's Habanero 5K at 11:00 a.m.