Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

ENMU women 18th at Chile Pepper Festival

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Senior Aminata Kenyawani placed 89th in a field of 322 runners, leading Eastern New Mexico University’s women to an 18th-place team finish out of 37 total squads in Saturday’s Chile Pepper Festival cross country meet, hosted by the University of Arkansas.

The event featured NCAA Division I and smaller four-year universities, along with junior college contingents.

NCAA Division II power Colorado School of Mines came in sixth in men’s competition while the Orediggers won the women’s team title, tallying 39 points and earning seven of the top 17 spots individually, with Augustana (S.D.) second at 131. Arkansas was the top D-I team in the standings, placing fifth with 192 points, while ENMU came in with a team score of 574.

Arkansas, meantime, took men’s team honors with 45 points to 132 for Tulsa. ENMU finished 33rd in the 36-team field with 802 points, beating out three D-I programs.

Kenyawani posted a time of 18 minutes, 24.2 seconds in the women’s 5K event. The next finisher for the Greyhounds was sophomore Dorcas Kosgei, 115th in 18:39.0.

For the men, junior Kelvin Kipkemboi posted an 8K time of 25:16.7 to place 55th in a field of 327 runners. Senior Sylvestre Kibarar was next for the Hounds, coming in 173rd in 26:38.7.

ENMU returns to action on Saturday in the LCU Region Preview meet at Lubbock, hosted by Lubbock Christian.

Hounds fall in three at WT — At Canyon, Texas, sophomore outside hitter Torrey Miller had 10 kills and senior libero Chandler Vogel posted 14 digs Wednesday night to help West Texas A&M beat Eastern New Mexico University 25-21, 25-17, 25-20 in Lone Star Conference volleyball.

Junior middle blocker Kayla Elliott added three total blocks and three aces as the Lady Buffs (10-2, 4-1 LSC) improved to 70-15 all-time against the Greyhounds.

Sophomore middle blocker Gracelyn Stubbs paced ENMU (1-12, 1-4) with seven kills. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Gannon posted a team-best nine digs.

Despite the loss to their rivals, the Hounds didn’t go down quietly.

ENMU led 12-9 in the opening canto before WT went on a 6-1 run. The Hounds then cut the Lady Buffs’ margin to 21-19 on a kill by Gannon and a solo block from junior middle blocker Jordan O’Connor-Dempsey, but WT recovered and closed it out.

In Game 2, the Lady Buffs overcame an early 2-0 deficit with a 7-2 run. ENMU rallied to tie it 16-16 when Stubbs put down a kill and then teamed up with freshman libero Kinzie Davis for a block, but WT went on an 8-0 run at that time to send it to set point.

ENMU then shook off a 5-2 deficit in Game 3, building a 13-10 lead after a 5-1 surge that included two kills by freshman outside hitter Mikaela Garvin and a pair of combo blocks.

At that point, though, WT took control, scoring nine of the next 12 tallies for a 19-16 advantage which forced the Hounds into a time out.

ENMU returns to action on Friday when it begins a two-game conference road swing at St. Edward’s.

Mustangs turn back ENMU — At Wichita Falls, Texas, freshman midfielder Lexi Beck tallied a goal and an assist and Midwestern State did all its damage in the second half en route to a 3-0 LSC women’s soccer victory over ENMU.

Beck found the back of the net just over five minutes into the second canto, then assisted on a goal by teammate Marissa Resendez about 12 minutes later.

Then, with less than three minutes left, the Mustangs (4-2-1, 1-0-1 LSC) added final tally when senior defender Hayden Zuniga scored on a penalty kick after a handball in the box by ENMU.

Senior goalkeeper Whitney Dockweiler had seven saves for the Hounds. ENMU was outshot on goal by MSU 10-2.

ENMU hosted St. Edward’s in a conference matchup on Saturday afternoon. Their next outing is on Saturday in an LSC matchup at St. Mary’s.