EPCC Moves Up National Rankings After ‘Super Bowl’ of Running
El Paso, Texas, October 12, 2026 – El Paso Community College (EPCC) Cross Country competed in the renowned 38th annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Saturday October 3, 2026, and the women’s team has moved up in the 2026 national rankings due to their performance.
The Festival is considered the Super Bowl of cross country racing, hosted by the University of Arkansas, at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
EPCC competed in the women’s collegiate ‘Harter’s Habanero’ 5K, and finished 19th overall, but finished as the top junior college at the meet among 29 teams.
Thanks to their performance, the EPCC women’s team moved up to #4 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 rankings, tied with Odessa College. The men are ranked 14thin NJCAA Division 1.
Sophomore Nhamoinesu ‘Tadi’ Mabvuka finished 46th overall with a blistering time of 17:39, bettering her time of 18:13 at the Lori Fitzgerald Invitational in El Paso three weeks ago and earning NJCAA Division 1 athlete of the week honors. Freshman Carren Jeruto finished 100th at 18:23, topping her previous best time by 20 seconds.
Meanwhile, the EPCC men competed in the men’s collegiate ‘McDonnel Memorial’ 8K and finished 23rd overall.
Sophomore Joel Barros finished 13th overall with a time of 24:38, followed by freshman Erick Gutierrez Estrada in 118th at 26:29.
The annual race attracts 6500 runners and 7,000 spectators over the weekend, which features open community races, junior high schools, high schools, colleges and elite Division 1 program like Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Baylor, Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Southern Miss, North Texas, Memphis, and UTEP, to name a few.
Race proceeds are given to public high school cross country programs in the four counties of Northwest Arkansas, and more than $1,000,000 has been given to cross-country programs.
Next up, EPCC will travel to Hobbs, New Mexico, for the New Mexico Junior College Thunderbird Open on October 16, 2026.
EPCC will compete in the Region V Championships on October 30, 2026, in Hobbs, New Mexico. The top two spots earn automatic qualifying spots in the NJCAA National Championships, to be held in Huntsville, Alabama, November 14-17, 2026.
For more information on the EPCC Cross Country teams, please visit:https://www.epcc.edu/Services/Athletics/cross-country-half-marathon
