TicketsCINCINNATI - Aaron Bienenfeld, a junior on the University of Cincinnati cross country team, has been selected as the American Athletic Conference Men's Athlete of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. Bienenfeld is the second Bearcats runner to be honored this year after teammate Andrew Schille was selected for the same award September 4.
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., Saturday and placed ninth overall in the field of 252 runners in the gold race at the Greater Louisville Classic. Bienenfeld crossed the finish line in 23:56.8 for his second Top 10 finish of the year after he placed 4th at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., two weeks prior. Comparing the two races - both of which were 8,000m runs - Bienenfeld's time in Louisville was a 1:04.4 improvement 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.
Thanks to the fast running of both Bienenfeld and Schille (12th in Louisville) and a deep roster, the men found themselves among the Top 15 teams in the NCAA Great Lakes Region rankings this week, coming in at #14 this week according to the USTFCCCA. The ranking is the first the men have received in the regional standings since Week 6 of the 2016 season when they were #13, ending a three-week run of being included in the rankings (#15, #13, #13).
With his honor earned from the AAC today, 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 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.
UC returns to action in two weeks at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill. The meet, which will take place Friday, October 12, will be the final tune-up for the Bearcats before they compete in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships in New Orleans (Oct. 25).
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., Saturday and placed ninth overall in the field of 252 runners in the gold race at the Greater Louisville Classic. Bienenfeld crossed the finish line in 23:56.8 for his second Top 10 finish of the year after he placed 4th at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., two weeks prior. Comparing the two races - both of which were 8,000m runs - Bienenfeld's time in Louisville was a 1:04.4 improvement 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.
Thanks to the fast running of both Bienenfeld and Schille (12th in Louisville) and a deep roster, the men found themselves among the Top 15 teams in the NCAA Great Lakes Region rankings this week, coming in at #14 this week according to the USTFCCCA. The ranking is the first the men have received in the regional standings since Week 6 of the 2016 season when they were #13, ending a three-week run of being included in the rankings (#15, #13, #13).
With his honor earned from the AAC today, 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 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.
UC returns to action in two weeks at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill. The meet, which will take place Friday, October 12, will be the final tune-up for the Bearcats before they compete in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Championships in New Orleans (Oct. 25).