Tickets// THE STARTING LINE
The final race of the regular season is upon the University of Cincinnati cross country program as the Bearcats will travel to Peoria, Ill., Friday to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic at the Newman Golf Course. The meet will be the final race before the championship season gets underway in less than two weeks when the Bearcats travel to New Orleans for the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships (Oct. 25).
// 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 ran two weeks ago at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky., with the men taking eighth in the gold race and the women 19th.
• Aaron Bienenfeld led the men by finishing ninth overall, his second Top 10 finish in as many races this season, with Andrew Schille (12) and Ryan Guenthner (48) placing in the Top 50
• For his efforts, Bienenfeld was named the AAC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week, his first honor and the program's second this year
• Hannah Markel was the top finisher for the women, placing 69th overall.
• Combined, the 22 Bearcats that raced that day recorded 17 PRs (10 men, 7 women) with three men and bettering their previous 8,000m times by over one minute each
• The UC men are ranked #14 in the latest USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region rankings, the first time the Bearcats have been in the Top 15 since 2016
// SCHEDULE
The Bearcats will have representatives in three of the five races Friday. First, one woman will run in the open race at 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET) before the women's 'red' 6,000m run gets underway at 3:15 p.m. CT (4:15 p.m. ET). The last race of the day will be the men's 'red' 8,000m run that will begin at 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET).
// RESULTS
Results for the meet will posted on BradleyBraves.com and on ShazamRacing.com.
// WHO'S IN?
Thirty-nine schools will be represented in the 'red' races at Bradley Friday afternoon with 37 women's teams and 35 men's stepping to the start line. In the women's race, the Bearcats will see competitors from three teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Top 30, including #11 Indiana, #15 Iowa State and #21 Minnesota while the men will face off with #6 Iowa State and #21 Indiana among others. The Great Lakes and Midwest regions are well represented in the field with five men's and four women's teams from the Great Lakes ranked in the regional Top 15 while the Midwest will have nine men's and eight women's teams from its Top 15 racing. In the Great Lakes, the ranked men's teams include #4 Indiana, #7 Butler, #13 Bowling Green, #14 UC and #15 IUPUI while the women's teams with rankings include #3 Indiana, #10 Butler, #11 Toledo and #14 Western Michigan.
// REGIONALLY RANKED
The UC men are ranked in the Great Lakes Region for the first time since Week 6 of the 2016 season when they received back-to-back #13 rankings. Dating back to the start of the rankings in 2008, the UC men have been ranked 36 times with their #8 standing in the preseason and Week 1 of the 2011 season being their highest.
// FEELING HONORED
Aaron Bienefeld recently ran just his second cross country race as he tackled the 8,000m course at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., September 29 and placed ninth overall in the field of 252 runners in the gold race at the Greater Louisville Classic. That run not only saw him cross the finish line in 23:56.8 for his second Top 10 finish of the year, it also earned him the AAC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week award, the first of his career and the second earned by the UC men so far this year. Bienenfeld's time in Louisville was a 1:04.4 improvement his first 8,000m collegiate race run two weeks prior at the John McNichols Invitational and made him the first UC man to break 24 minutes on an 8k course since Evan Baum ran 23:42.5 at the 2013 AAC Championships in Madison, Conn., finishing sixth overall in the inaugural meet.
// ADDING TO THE HAUL
With his honor earned from the AAC, Bienenfeld becomes not only the second UC man to be honored this year, but also just the second in the history of the program since the Bearcats joined the AAC in 2013 with Andrew Schille being the first. The duo are the first Bearcats to capture a weekly award for the program since 2011 when Eric Finan was named the BIG EAST Cross Country Runner of the Week on October 18 after placing third at the highly-competitive NCAA Pre-National meet.
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS • MEN
To say the men had a big day in Louisville the last time out would be an understatement. Of the 12 Bearcats that ran, 10 posted personal-best times in the 8,000m distance with six improving by over 40 seconds. While Bienenfeld's 1:04.4 improvement was spectacular and allowed him to run under 24 minutes, he didn't have the biggest improvement as that honor went to freshman Christian Stevens, who lowered his time by 1:08.0. Keifer Mosmeier, also a freshman, lowered his time by 1:06.1. Other improvements posted included Matt Stump (52.5), Toni Banos (43.7), Ryan Guenthner (40.9), Steven Zombory (17.6), Nick Grismer (10.3), Michael Vitucci (7.2) and Andrew Schille (4.3).
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS • WOMEN
Seven of the 10 women that raced in Louisville also posted personal-best times with Sammy Hentz leading the way as she ran 54.7 seconds faster than her previous best, covering the 5,000m course in 18:55.5. Maggie Breitenstein lowered her PR by 12.2 seconds overall with her collegiate PR dropping by 39.9, the second-best improvement on the day. Others lowering their times included Ellee Bullock (39.0), Madalyn O'Dea (college PR by 35.4), Katrina Patterson (29.0) and Sydney Hess (13.8).
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
The championship season will be upon the Bearcats next time out as they will travel to New Orleans on Thursday, October 25, to race in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Tulane. The meet will be held at the Golf Club at Audubon Park with the women's 6,000m race leading things off at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) before the men's 8,000m race closes out the competition with a 10:50 a.m. CT (11:50 a.m. ET) start.
The final race of the regular season is upon the University of Cincinnati cross country program as the Bearcats will travel to Peoria, Ill., Friday to compete in the Bradley Pink Classic at the Newman Golf Course. The meet will be the final race before the championship season gets underway in less than two weeks when the Bearcats travel to New Orleans for the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships (Oct. 25).
// 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 ran two weeks ago at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky., with the men taking eighth in the gold race and the women 19th.
• Aaron Bienenfeld led the men by finishing ninth overall, his second Top 10 finish in as many races this season, with Andrew Schille (12) and Ryan Guenthner (48) placing in the Top 50
• For his efforts, Bienenfeld was named the AAC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week, his first honor and the program's second this year
• Hannah Markel was the top finisher for the women, placing 69th overall.
• Combined, the 22 Bearcats that raced that day recorded 17 PRs (10 men, 7 women) with three men and bettering their previous 8,000m times by over one minute each
• The UC men are ranked #14 in the latest USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region rankings, the first time the Bearcats have been in the Top 15 since 2016
// SCHEDULE
The Bearcats will have representatives in three of the five races Friday. First, one woman will run in the open race at 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET) before the women's 'red' 6,000m run gets underway at 3:15 p.m. CT (4:15 p.m. ET). The last race of the day will be the men's 'red' 8,000m run that will begin at 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET).
// RESULTS
Results for the meet will posted on BradleyBraves.com and on ShazamRacing.com.
// WHO'S IN?
Thirty-nine schools will be represented in the 'red' races at Bradley Friday afternoon with 37 women's teams and 35 men's stepping to the start line. In the women's race, the Bearcats will see competitors from three teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Top 30, including #11 Indiana, #15 Iowa State and #21 Minnesota while the men will face off with #6 Iowa State and #21 Indiana among others. The Great Lakes and Midwest regions are well represented in the field with five men's and four women's teams from the Great Lakes ranked in the regional Top 15 while the Midwest will have nine men's and eight women's teams from its Top 15 racing. In the Great Lakes, the ranked men's teams include #4 Indiana, #7 Butler, #13 Bowling Green, #14 UC and #15 IUPUI while the women's teams with rankings include #3 Indiana, #10 Butler, #11 Toledo and #14 Western Michigan.
// REGIONALLY RANKED
The UC men are ranked in the Great Lakes Region for the first time since Week 6 of the 2016 season when they received back-to-back #13 rankings. Dating back to the start of the rankings in 2008, the UC men have been ranked 36 times with their #8 standing in the preseason and Week 1 of the 2011 season being their highest.
// FEELING HONORED
Aaron Bienefeld recently ran just his second cross country race as he tackled the 8,000m course at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., September 29 and placed ninth overall in the field of 252 runners in the gold race at the Greater Louisville Classic. That run not only saw him cross the finish line in 23:56.8 for his second Top 10 finish of the year, it also earned him the AAC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Week award, the first of his career and the second earned by the UC men so far this year. Bienenfeld's time in Louisville was a 1:04.4 improvement his first 8,000m collegiate race run two weeks prior at the John McNichols Invitational and made him the first UC man to break 24 minutes on an 8k course since Evan Baum ran 23:42.5 at the 2013 AAC Championships in Madison, Conn., finishing sixth overall in the inaugural meet.
// ADDING TO THE HAUL
With his honor earned from the AAC, Bienenfeld becomes not only the second UC man to be honored this year, but also just the second in the history of the program since the Bearcats joined the AAC in 2013 with Andrew Schille being the first. The duo are the first Bearcats to capture a weekly award for the program since 2011 when Eric Finan was named the BIG EAST Cross Country Runner of the Week on October 18 after placing third at the highly-competitive NCAA Pre-National meet.
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS • MEN
To say the men had a big day in Louisville the last time out would be an understatement. Of the 12 Bearcats that ran, 10 posted personal-best times in the 8,000m distance with six improving by over 40 seconds. While Bienenfeld's 1:04.4 improvement was spectacular and allowed him to run under 24 minutes, he didn't have the biggest improvement as that honor went to freshman Christian Stevens, who lowered his time by 1:08.0. Keifer Mosmeier, also a freshman, lowered his time by 1:06.1. Other improvements posted included Matt Stump (52.5), Toni Banos (43.7), Ryan Guenthner (40.9), Steven Zombory (17.6), Nick Grismer (10.3), Michael Vitucci (7.2) and Andrew Schille (4.3).
// BIG IMPROVEMENTS • WOMEN
Seven of the 10 women that raced in Louisville also posted personal-best times with Sammy Hentz leading the way as she ran 54.7 seconds faster than her previous best, covering the 5,000m course in 18:55.5. Maggie Breitenstein lowered her PR by 12.2 seconds overall with her collegiate PR dropping by 39.9, the second-best improvement on the day. Others lowering their times included Ellee Bullock (39.0), Madalyn O'Dea (college PR by 35.4), Katrina Patterson (29.0) and Sydney Hess (13.8).
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
The championship season will be upon the Bearcats next time out as they will travel to New Orleans on Thursday, October 25, to race in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships hosted by Tulane. The meet will be held at the Golf Club at Audubon Park with the women's 6,000m race leading things off at 10 a.m. CT (11 a.m. ET) before the men's 8,000m race closes out the competition with a 10:50 a.m. CT (11:50 a.m. ET) start.