Oct. 17, 2006

IRVING, Texas - Personal best times at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., earned Stephen Samoei of UTEP and SMU's Rachel Forish cross country weekly honors.

MALE
Stephen Samoei, UTEP, Jr., Eldoret, Kenya
Stephen Samoei led the 11th-ranked UTEP men's cross country team to the Chile Pepper Festival title in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday. Samoei was the team's top finisher clocking a 10K personal-best time of 28:42.6 against 288 other competitors. He placed seventh overall and sixth among the collegiate field. The Miners upset host and second-ranked Arkansas for the team title. UTEP scored a festival-best 64 points, among the 33-team field.

FEMALE
Rachel Forish, SMU, Jr., Arlington, Texas
Rachel Forish led SMU to a ninth-place finish in the 43-team field at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday. The Texan clocked a personal-best 6K time of 20:40.8, bettering her pervious best by 30 seconds. Forish finished 10th out of 331 participants. The junior has been SMU's top finisher in all four events this season with two top-two clockings and two top-10 finishes.