Isabel van Camp wins as Razorbacks claim 10th consecutive Chile Pepper title
FAYETTEVILLE – Razorback junior Isabel van Camp produced a winning time of 15 minutes, 58.0 seconds in the 34th annual Chile Pepper Festival 5,000m race at Agri Park, leading Arkansas to its 10th consecutive victory with a total of 27 points over a field of 31 teams on Friday afternoon.
“It always fun to run at home,” said van Camp. “It’s a great course, a great environment, and it’s super fun to be out here with teammates.”
Arkansas’ winning total came off a team finish of places 1-2-5-8-10 while the sixth and seventh Razorbacks finished 14-17 in adjusted scoring. Finishing behind Arkansas were Southern Miss (123), Dallas Baptist (130), Oklahoma (152), and Kansas State (202) among the top five.
“Team-wise I think it went according to script,” said Arkansas women’s head coach Lance Harter. “I think we had a number of breakthroughs within our squad. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.”
In producing her best time on the Agri Park course, van Camp also demolished her previous 5k best of 17:16.6 from 2021 on the Missouri Gans Creek course. Previously, van Camp won the Chile Pepper high school division in 2018 in leading Keller to a team title.
“It feels special and it’s a full circle moment,” noted van Camp. “It definitely makes me feel very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in high school and beyond.
“I know I made the right choice in coming to Arkansas. My life would have taken a different trajectory if I hadn’t had the opportunity to come here. I’m very, very grateful. This is a very special place to be.”