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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophomore Kip Mutai set a Fort Lewis College 10k record to pace the Fort Lewis College cross country teams at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., an event that featured some of the top teams in NCAA Divisions I and II.

Mutai's time of 31:01.87 shattered the old mark of 31:52, set by FLC Athletic Hall of Famer Bryan Bailey on Nov. 6, 1993, in Hays, Kan.

“Kip had a dominating performance,” said Skyhawk head cross country coach Ken Flint of the sophomore from Bomet, Kenya. He ran with the back of the lead pack as long as he could, and that earned him a school record.”

Jeff Hofferber, a senior from Heritage High School in Littleton, also cracked the school's Top 10 10k list by finishing in 32:37.41 — good for seventh best in school history.

“Hofferber ran the race of his life,” said Flint. “It's neat to see a senior put it together in a big-time race and get on the all-time list.”

Other FLC men's runners included Michael Birgen (33:32.71), Justin Miller (33:57.46), Derek Laue (34:22.52), Patrick Tso (34:40.39), Dominick Bitsui (34:50.78), Josh Benson (35:05.50), Alex Colvin (35:33.32), Randy Nez (36:11.12), Alex Kilman (36:27.11) and Walter Delwiche (36:55.18).

“Justin went sub-34 [minutes] and he was just looking to break 35” said Flint. “It's good to see him fit and healthy.”

The Skyhawk men finished 32nd out of 50 teams in the men's 10k. Oklahoma State won the men's competition with 22 points, followed by Indiana (73), Arkansas (74) and FLC's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival and perennial NCAA Division II champs Adams State (134).

Flint mentioned that Mutai would have finished sixth amongst Adams State runners, which is a tremendous accomplishment.

The Fort Lewis women were led by senior Ashley Kelly, a senior from Brighton who has battled injuries throughout the year. Kelly finished the 5k course in 18:53.90.

“Ashley took a digger 200 [yards] in, got up and still ran sub-19, which shows her character,” said Flint. “We know she can go faster.”

He also praised freshman Maddie Kruger, a freshman from Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument who ran 19:22.84. “Maddie had another strong performance as a freshman,” said Flint. “She can go sub-19.”

Other Skyhawk women's runners included Helen Smith (19:51.85), Liz Schwab (20:51.92), Megan Derschang (20:55.2), Morgan Love (21:45.85) and Gentry Peppin (24:20.82).

Fort Lewis finished 42nd out of 56 teams in the women's 5k. Oklahoma State won the women's competition with 72 points, followed by Indiana (76), Texas A&M (162) and FLC's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival and NCAA Division II powerhouse Adams State (196).

Fort Lewis' next race is the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by New Mexico Highlands on Nov. 6. The women will compete at the 6k distance, while the men will compete at 8k.

“We have another cycle of training before they start keeping score with the RMAC and {NCAA Division II Central} Regionals,” said Flint. “We'll look to get healthy, sharpen up and compete against the best in the nation in three weeks.”