FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.?The Louisiana Tech men?s cross country team ran in the 18th annual Chile Pepper Festival Cross Country Festival on Saturday October, 14 2006, where they finished 21st out of 41 teams.

UTEP finished first over-all as a team, with the University of Arkansas finishing second. Other notable teams in competition this weekend included LSU, Texas Tech and Nebraska.

?Physically I thought we were ready as a team, but mentally and emotionally, we weren?t,? said Louisiana Tech cross country head coach Gary Stanley.

The Louisiana Tech men?s cross country team was coming off of 3rd place over-all finish at the Auburn Invitational two weekends ago where they ran like Bulldogs, however their finish this weekend resembled the performance of puppies.

?We ran like men at Auburn, we ran like scared little boys at Fayetteville this weekend,? said Stanley.

Tech?s leading finisher for the day was sophomore Jace Benoit, who finished 71st over-all with a time of 31 minutes and 22 seconds. Junior Kinsey Dinnel finished 85th over-all in 31:40 and fellow junior, Zach Shuler finished 101st with a time of 31:56. Junior Nate Davis finished in 32:34 giving him 138th place while sophomore Wesley Wilson finished 146th in a time of 32:43. Senior Tim Marshall, who competed while injured, finished in a time of 34:14, for a 187th place finish, rounding out all Tech competitors.

The men?s cross country team will next compete in the WAC championships in Fresno, Calif., on October, 28 2006, with that competition beginning at approximately 9 a.m.