SHAWNEE – After several weeks of rest, the Oklahoma Baptist men's cross country squad will return to the course this weekend when it runs in the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, AR on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Bison will compete in the McDonnell Memorial 8K race.
The race is set to begin at 10:25 a.m. from Agri Park, and fans can
watch live or follow along with
live results. The Bison enter the weekend ranked sixth in the
Central Region and are receiving votes in the
USTFCCCA Top 25.
OBU began the season strong by taking first place at the Rogers State Distance After Dark on Sept. 3 in Tulsa. Oklahoma Baptist had four runners finish in the top-10, including
Emery Crayton (5th),
Jonah Grein (8th),
Brody Woodcock (9th), and
Levi Haynes (10th).
Fourteen different Bison set new personal records in the event, as OBU had eight different runners clock in at 21:56.00 or lower in the Men's 4 Mile Run.
As for this weekend's meet in Arkansas, the Bison last participated in the event in 2024 and finished 12th of of 25 teams that competed. A total of four current Oklahoma Baptist runners participated in the event two years ago, including Crayton,
Hudson Cunningham,
Josh Kearse, and
Kasen Taylor.
OBU has one more meet scheduled for the regular season, Oct. 17 at the Dallas Baptist Old Glory Gallop, before hosting the 2026 Great American Conference Championships on Nov. 7 in Shawnee.
