The No. 6 Arizona men's cross country team captured second place at the Chili Pepper Invitational on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
Junior Robert Cheseret led the way for the Wildcats, finishing in third place with a time of 28:34. Junior Odeb Mutanya finished in 12th place, as junior Moses Mpanga, sophomore Mohamaed Trafeh and senior Jonah Maiyo also placed for Arizona.
The Wildcats' 93 points were good enough to hold off No. 11 UTEP for second place behind host No. 1 Arkansas, which scored 57.
The race, which featured 33 teams from across the nation, was the first 10,000-meter race for Arizona this year.
Wildcats cross country head coach James Li said he hoped that the longer length would help prepare the men for the upcoming Pacific 10 Conference and NCAA Championship races.
"Running 10,000 meters is definitely different than running 8,000," he said. "If nothing else, hopefully it will help them psychologically."
The Arizona women's team finished 26th in the Pre-NCAA Invitational on Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.
Sophomore Emily McGregor was the first Wildcat to finish, in 57th place.
Seniors Fanice Chepkokir and Robin Tierney, and juniors Ashley Ippolito and Karen Langdorf all scored for the Wildcats in the 6,000 race.
Stanford won with 86 points, followed by a top-five of Notre Dame, Colombia and the two schools who tied for fourth, Brigham Young and North Carolina State.
Arizona hosts the Pacific 10 Conference Championships Oct. 29 at the Dell Urich Golf Course, where the Wildcat men won the Dave Murray Invitational Sept. 16.
The home field advantage should help but isn't something the talented Wildcats will rely on, Li said.
Information taken from www.arizonaathletics.com.