TicketsCINCINNATI - The NCAA announced the qualifying teams and individuals into the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championships today with University of Cincinnati junior Aaron Bienenfeld earning an individual berth into the national meet in his first season participating in the sport. The meet will be held Saturday, November 17, on the Thomas Zimmer Champion Course in Madison, Wis., and will be used to crown team and national champions along with awarding All-America honors to individual competitors.
Bienenfeld has put together a solid year in 2018 as he raced five times and placed in the Top 12 in all five, including placing 12th in the NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships one day earlier to punch his ticket to the national meet. A 2018 American Athletic Conference All-Conference honoree after placing third in the league, Bienenfeld is the first Bearcats runner to qualify to the NCAA Cross Country Championships since 2011 when Eric Finan raced to All-America honors and a 25th-place finish.
The men's 10,000m championship will be the second race of the day and is set to start at 12:45 p.m. ET. The women will race 6,000m with that championship competition starting at 11:45 a.m. ET.
// MORE ON BIENENFELD
A transfer from Germany, Bienenfeld had not raced cross country until coming to UC and had a solid debut season so far. After missing the first race of the season since he was running in the German Senior Mountain Racing Championships where he placed second, he came out at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., and placed fourth overall. He then placed ninth overall at the Greater Louisville Invitational in a very strong field before placing fourth at the Bradley Pink Classic to close out the regular season. Bienenfeld showed resilience in his most recent two races, first battling downpours and muddy conditions to take third in the conference meet before conquering very cold weather yesterday and placing 12th. Bienenfeld, the 2018 AAC Outdoor 10,000m champion, will now look to cap his first collegiate cross country season with another strong showing, this time on the national stage.
// SELECTION HISTORY
Bienenfeld is the fifth Bearcats runner in program history to reach the NCAA Cross Country Championships and earned the ninth overall selection, joining previous selections Finan (2010 and 2011), Chris Reis (2000-02), Mark Rupe (1993) and Ron Stapleton (1971-72).
// CHASING ALL-AMERICA HONORS
To earn All-America honors, Bienenfeld will need to finish among the Top 40 in the national race. Should he do so, he would become just the third All-American in program history, joining Finan (2011) and Stapleton (1971). Finan earned the most recent honor by placing 25th at the 2011 meet while Stapleton, the first All-American in program history, placed 23rd in 1971.
// CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Bienenfeld will be one of five individuals representing the AAC with Tulsa's men being the lone squad to earn a berth into the national meet as an at-large selection. In the men's race, Bienenfeld will be joined by Tulane's Emmanuel Rotich, the 2018 AAC Champion, while the women's competition will see a trio of AAC runners racing including Wichita State's Winny Koskei and the SMU duo of Hannah Miller and Svenja Ojustersek.
// HOW TO WATCH
FloTrack.com will stream both races through their subscription service. Live results also will be made available on NCAA.com.
Bienenfeld has put together a solid year in 2018 as he raced five times and placed in the Top 12 in all five, including placing 12th in the NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships one day earlier to punch his ticket to the national meet. A 2018 American Athletic Conference All-Conference honoree after placing third in the league, Bienenfeld is the first Bearcats runner to qualify to the NCAA Cross Country Championships since 2011 when Eric Finan raced to All-America honors and a 25th-place finish.
The men's 10,000m championship will be the second race of the day and is set to start at 12:45 p.m. ET. The women will race 6,000m with that championship competition starting at 11:45 a.m. ET.
// MORE ON BIENENFELD
A transfer from Germany, Bienenfeld had not raced cross country until coming to UC and had a solid debut season so far. After missing the first race of the season since he was running in the German Senior Mountain Racing Championships where he placed second, he came out at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., and placed fourth overall. He then placed ninth overall at the Greater Louisville Invitational in a very strong field before placing fourth at the Bradley Pink Classic to close out the regular season. Bienenfeld showed resilience in his most recent two races, first battling downpours and muddy conditions to take third in the conference meet before conquering very cold weather yesterday and placing 12th. Bienenfeld, the 2018 AAC Outdoor 10,000m champion, will now look to cap his first collegiate cross country season with another strong showing, this time on the national stage.
// SELECTION HISTORY
Bienenfeld is the fifth Bearcats runner in program history to reach the NCAA Cross Country Championships and earned the ninth overall selection, joining previous selections Finan (2010 and 2011), Chris Reis (2000-02), Mark Rupe (1993) and Ron Stapleton (1971-72).
// CHASING ALL-AMERICA HONORS
To earn All-America honors, Bienenfeld will need to finish among the Top 40 in the national race. Should he do so, he would become just the third All-American in program history, joining Finan (2011) and Stapleton (1971). Finan earned the most recent honor by placing 25th at the 2011 meet while Stapleton, the first All-American in program history, placed 23rd in 1971.
// CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Bienenfeld will be one of five individuals representing the AAC with Tulsa's men being the lone squad to earn a berth into the national meet as an at-large selection. In the men's race, Bienenfeld will be joined by Tulane's Emmanuel Rotich, the 2018 AAC Champion, while the women's competition will see a trio of AAC runners racing including Wichita State's Winny Koskei and the SMU duo of Hannah Miller and Svenja Ojustersek.
// HOW TO WATCH
FloTrack.com will stream both races through their subscription service. Live results also will be made available on NCAA.com.