Tickets// THE STARTING LINE
The University of Cincinnati cross country teams are set to race this week as the Bearcats will venture south the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday morning. The meet, which will be held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., will feature six collegiate races, broken into gold, blue and silver with the Bearcats racing in the gold division. The men will lead things off at 9:30 a.m. in the 8,000m race with the women following at 10:15 a.m.
// FOLLOW US
For up to the minute updates, follow UC Track & Field/Cross Country (@GoBearcatsTFXC) on Twitter, Facebook (GoBearcatsTFXC) and Instagram (GoBearcatsTFXC) and join in the conversation by using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK SPLITS
• Cincinnati last raced two weeks ago at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., with the men finishing fourth overall and the women eighth in the team standings
• Aaron Bienenfeld made his UC cross country debut in Terre Haute and finished fourth overall
• Through two races, the men have had one runner finish in the Top 4 in each meet with Bienenfeld joining Andrew Schille on that list after Schille won the season-opening Queen City Invite
• Hannah Markel was the top finisher for the women as she placed 31st overall
• Three women not only ran personal-best times at the meet, but did so by bettering their previous marks by at least 21 seconds
// RESULTS
Result for the Greater Louisville Classic will be live on FlashResults.com and will also be posted on GoBearcats.com following the conclusion of the day's action.
// WHO'S IN?
When the teams line up Saturday, the Bearcats will have a large field of competitors to race. The men's race will feature 30 teams in all with three squads earning national recognition in the most recent USTFCCCA National Rankings while the women's field will be comprised of 28 squads, including two on the national chart. Those teams garnering national recognition include the #19 Middle Tennessee State men and the #10 Michigan women while men's teams Campbell and Eastern Kentucky and women's team SMU are all receiving votes.
// NOT STRANGERS
The Bearcats are familiar with the Sawyer course after running on it last year at the NCAA Pre-National Meet. In that competition, Nick Grismer let the men to a 13th-place finish as she took 71st overall. On the women's side, Sam Mikula led the way as the then-freshman was 84th overall with the women placing 20th overall.
// LAST TIME: 2014 GREATER LOUISVILLE CLASSIC
The last time Cincinnati competed in the Greater Louisville Classic was in 2014 with the men finishing 10th overall and the women 31st. That morning, the men finished ahead of 18 other teams with Toby Loveridge leading the way by finishing 44th in the 250-runner field. Ashley Earman was the top finisher for the women, placing 153rd overall.
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS
In the women's race at the John McNichols Invitational, three women not only recorded personal-best times, but did so by a large margin. Katrina Patterson was the first of the trip across the line as she placed 41st in 19:06.6, lowering her previous best by 21.1 seconds. Maggie Breitenstein was next as her time of 19:27.4 was a 31.3 second improvement over her collegiate debut two weeks earlier. Finally, Madalyn O'Dea dropped 31.1 seconds off her time as she ran 20:07.3.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MORE ON SCHILLE'S WIN
Schille's win brought a bit of history with it as he became just the second man to win the QCI three times in a career, joining former UC All-American Eric Finan with three crowns. Schille's third win also made him the first runner to win for two different teams as he won the past two running for Northern Kentucky before graduating and joining the UC program this fall. His win was the 19th for a UC runner and the first since 2011 when Finan captured his third in the 2011 race.
// ANOTHER FIRST
Schille was not done with history there, however. Following the meet, he was selected as the American Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week. He is the first UC runner (man or woman) to collect a weekly award from the AAC since the league was founded in 2013. Going back to previous conference affiliations, Schille is the first UC athlete to earn a weekly award since Finan was named the BIG EAST Runner of the Week on October 18, 2011.
// NEW TO THE TEAM - WOMEN
The newest additions to the women's roster this year include five true freshmen and one redshirt sophomore. The five freshmen include Maggie Breitenstein (Cincinnati/St. Ursula), Leah Maschino (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), Janey McManus (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom), Madalyn O'Dea (Louisville/Christian Academy) and Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif./Centennial). The final newcomer is Ellee Bullock (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome). Bullock has been a member of two collegiate tennis programs, starting her career at Utah State before transferring to UC in time for the 2017-18 season.
// NEW TO THE TEAM - MEN
The men's newcomers include a mix of three true freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one graduate senior. The rookies include Toni Banos (Spain), Keifer Mosmeier (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and Christian Stevens (Indianapolis/Brebeuf Jesuit), with Jack Cordonnier (Morrow, Ohio/St. Xavier) joining as a sophomore after running for the UC Running Club last year. The final two newcomers have had great success in college already, including Aaron Bienenfeld (Germany), who joined the UC program in time for the 2018 track & field season in which he won the AAC 10,000m outdoor title, and Andrew Schille (Cincinnati/Oak Hills), a graduate transfer from NKU where he was a four-time champion in the Horizon League and a 10-time All-Horizon League selection.
// UP NEXT
Following one week off from competition, the Bearcats will return to action in their final tune-up ahead of the conference meet as they will travel to Peoria, Ill., to race in the Bradley Pink Classic on October 12. The men will run an 8,000m race and the women 5,000m less than two weeks out from the AAC Championships in New Orleans (October 25).
The University of Cincinnati cross country teams are set to race this week as the Bearcats will venture south the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday morning. The meet, which will be held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., will feature six collegiate races, broken into gold, blue and silver with the Bearcats racing in the gold division. The men will lead things off at 9:30 a.m. in the 8,000m race with the women following at 10:15 a.m.
// FOLLOW US
For up to the minute updates, follow UC Track & Field/Cross Country (@GoBearcatsTFXC) on Twitter, Facebook (GoBearcatsTFXC) and Instagram (GoBearcatsTFXC) and join in the conversation by using the hashtag #Bearcats.
// QUICK SPLITS
• Cincinnati last raced two weeks ago at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., with the men finishing fourth overall and the women eighth in the team standings
• Aaron Bienenfeld made his UC cross country debut in Terre Haute and finished fourth overall
• Through two races, the men have had one runner finish in the Top 4 in each meet with Bienenfeld joining Andrew Schille on that list after Schille won the season-opening Queen City Invite
• Hannah Markel was the top finisher for the women as she placed 31st overall
• Three women not only ran personal-best times at the meet, but did so by bettering their previous marks by at least 21 seconds
// RESULTS
Result for the Greater Louisville Classic will be live on FlashResults.com and will also be posted on GoBearcats.com following the conclusion of the day's action.
// WHO'S IN?
When the teams line up Saturday, the Bearcats will have a large field of competitors to race. The men's race will feature 30 teams in all with three squads earning national recognition in the most recent USTFCCCA National Rankings while the women's field will be comprised of 28 squads, including two on the national chart. Those teams garnering national recognition include the #19 Middle Tennessee State men and the #10 Michigan women while men's teams Campbell and Eastern Kentucky and women's team SMU are all receiving votes.
// NOT STRANGERS
The Bearcats are familiar with the Sawyer course after running on it last year at the NCAA Pre-National Meet. In that competition, Nick Grismer let the men to a 13th-place finish as she took 71st overall. On the women's side, Sam Mikula led the way as the then-freshman was 84th overall with the women placing 20th overall.
// LAST TIME: 2014 GREATER LOUISVILLE CLASSIC
The last time Cincinnati competed in the Greater Louisville Classic was in 2014 with the men finishing 10th overall and the women 31st. That morning, the men finished ahead of 18 other teams with Toby Loveridge leading the way by finishing 44th in the 250-runner field. Ashley Earman was the top finisher for the women, placing 153rd overall.
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS
In the women's race at the John McNichols Invitational, three women not only recorded personal-best times, but did so by a large margin. Katrina Patterson was the first of the trip across the line as she placed 41st in 19:06.6, lowering her previous best by 21.1 seconds. Maggie Breitenstein was next as her time of 19:27.4 was a 31.3 second improvement over her collegiate debut two weeks earlier. Finally, Madalyn O'Dea dropped 31.1 seconds off her time as she ran 20:07.3.
PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// MORE ON SCHILLE'S WIN
Schille's win brought a bit of history with it as he became just the second man to win the QCI three times in a career, joining former UC All-American Eric Finan with three crowns. Schille's third win also made him the first runner to win for two different teams as he won the past two running for Northern Kentucky before graduating and joining the UC program this fall. His win was the 19th for a UC runner and the first since 2011 when Finan captured his third in the 2011 race.
// ANOTHER FIRST
Schille was not done with history there, however. Following the meet, he was selected as the American Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week. He is the first UC runner (man or woman) to collect a weekly award from the AAC since the league was founded in 2013. Going back to previous conference affiliations, Schille is the first UC athlete to earn a weekly award since Finan was named the BIG EAST Runner of the Week on October 18, 2011.
// NEW TO THE TEAM - WOMEN
The newest additions to the women's roster this year include five true freshmen and one redshirt sophomore. The five freshmen include Maggie Breitenstein (Cincinnati/St. Ursula), Leah Maschino (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), Janey McManus (Huntsville, Ala./Grissom), Madalyn O'Dea (Louisville/Christian Academy) and Rylee Penn (Corona, Calif./Centennial). The final newcomer is Ellee Bullock (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome). Bullock has been a member of two collegiate tennis programs, starting her career at Utah State before transferring to UC in time for the 2017-18 season.
// NEW TO THE TEAM - MEN
The men's newcomers include a mix of three true freshmen, one sophomore, one junior and one graduate senior. The rookies include Toni Banos (Spain), Keifer Mosmeier (Laurelville, Ohio/Logan Elm) and Christian Stevens (Indianapolis/Brebeuf Jesuit), with Jack Cordonnier (Morrow, Ohio/St. Xavier) joining as a sophomore after running for the UC Running Club last year. The final two newcomers have had great success in college already, including Aaron Bienenfeld (Germany), who joined the UC program in time for the 2018 track & field season in which he won the AAC 10,000m outdoor title, and Andrew Schille (Cincinnati/Oak Hills), a graduate transfer from NKU where he was a four-time champion in the Horizon League and a 10-time All-Horizon League selection.
// UP NEXT
Following one week off from competition, the Bearcats will return to action in their final tune-up ahead of the conference meet as they will travel to Peoria, Ill., to race in the Bradley Pink Classic on October 12. The men will run an 8,000m race and the women 5,000m less than two weeks out from the AAC Championships in New Orleans (October 25).