CINCINNATI - The air might have been cold and the ground soft and muddy, but that didn't prevent the University of Cincinnati cross country teams from heating up at the right time as both teams finished in the Top 5 of the standings and Aaron Bienenfeld claimed the men's individual crown as the 2019 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships came to a close Friday morning at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tenn. Four Bearcats earned all-conference accolades for their performances as the men placed fourth overall as a team and the women fifth.
// TEAM STANDINGS
Tulsa swept both team titles as the UC men finished fourth overall and the women fifth. On the men's side, Tulsa scored 20 points to easily win the crown with Temple second at 68 points. The next three teams were separated by eight points total as UConn was third at 110, UC was fourth at 116 and Wichita State was fifth at 118. With their finish, the men have now posted a Top 4 finish in the AAC meet four times (seven meets) with the most recent coming with a third-place finish in 2016.
On the women's side, a historical day culminated with the team reaching its goal of finishing among the top half of the league as they scored 106 points to finish fifth while Tulsa won the title with 37 points. The Top 4 was rounded out by WSU (63), Temple (83) and UConn (100), just six points ahead of UC. The Bearcats' finish is their best since 2000 when the team placed fourth overall in the Conference USA Championships. Additionally, the 106 points tallied by the women ranks as the 10th-best total in a conference meet and the fewest since the 1999 team scored 80 points to place third in Conference USA.
// BIENENFELD BRINGS HOME GOLD
When the gun sounded, Bienenfeld took off and opened a sizeable lead on the rest of the field as he led by nearly 50 meters after the first mile and eventually extended that to nearly 200 meters at the finish line as the senior crossed the line in 23:43.3 to claim his first conference cross country title. A two-time 10,000m champion on the outdoor track, Bienenfeld's time broke the course record while his wire-to-wire lead saw him drop 13.5 second off his personal best.
Additionally, Bienenfeld's win marks the first cross country title won by a UC runner since the AAC started in 2013. He is also just the sixth man at UC (since 1980) to win the conference cross country crown and the first to do so since 2011 when Eric Finan took the top spot in the Big East Championships. Bienenfeld's win also is his third in as many races this year, keeping him on pace with Finan, who won four races in 2011 while taking second in the region and 25th nationally to earn All-America honors.
// MORE ON THE MEN
Bienenfeld was not the only UC man that had a strong day on the course as two others posted personal-best times, led by Toni Banos, who was 22nd overall in 25:01.9, an improvement of 37.1 seconds on his previous best. Banos led a trio of that finished closely to one another as Ryan Guenthner was 23rd (25:04.3) and Tyler Wirth 25th (25:08.3). Wirth, who also posted a PR of 25.1 seconds, was the first freshman to cross the finish line which earned him the 2019 AAC Male Freshman of the Year award.
Christian Stevens as the fifth runner for the Bearcats as he ran 26:00.3 to place 47th overall while Jase Headings (26:26.8) and Matt Hoak (26:41.0) finished 57th and 63rd, respectively, in their first AAC meet. Jonathan Harley (27:00.2) and Ryan Pehlman (27:36.4) also raced as they finished 72nd and 78th, respectively.
// TRIPLE THREAT
In the previous six years of racing in the AAC, the women had produced two all-conference honors as each individual placed in the Top 15 of their races. After not seeing a runner reach the podium last year, the Bearcats came out and left no doubt they would receive accolades as Lauren Kemper (5th), Ellie Leather (11th) and Hannah Markel (14th) all finished in the Top 15 to earn the honor, the first for each. By doing so, it marked just the second time UC has seen three women earn all-conference in the same conference meet with the only other coming in 1987. It also is the most since 1999 when two women placed in the Top 15 as well.
Kemper made the most of her debut as the junior, who spent the past two years and the first few weeks of this season racing for the UC running club team, put down a huge run as she finished fifth overall in 20:46.4, smashing her previous PR by 1:03.2. Her placement also tied her for the third-best individual finish in program history and the best since Angie Kist was third in 1999.
Leather, also in her first AAC meet after running the past two years for Fresno State, dropped a time of 21:01.7 to lower her time by 28.5 seconds while Markel, running at the AAC meet for the third time in her career, was 14th overall in 21:06.0, an improvement of 49.3 seconds over her previous best.
// MORE ON THE WOMEN
Six other women ran on the day as well with five finishing and three posting personal-best times. Rylee Penn, in her first AAC meet, was 36th overall as she lowered her best by 40.4 seconds after running 21:59.2. Katrina Patterson was the fifth runner for the Bearcats and was 44th overall with a time of 22:11.7, an improvement of 11.5 seconds.
Oliva Tyre was 52nd overall in her debut as she ran 22:21.8 while Ellee Bullock ran 22:29.2 to lower her time by 19.4 seconds. Sam Mikula was the final finisher for the Bearcats as she was 71st overall in 22:57.7 while rookie Maddie Walker was unable to finish her debut.
// NEXT MEET
In two weeks, the Bearcats will venture to Madison, Wis., as they will race in the 2019 NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships on Friday, November 15. The meet is one 13 regional competitions held that day and is used as a qualifier to the NCAA Championships as the Top 2 teams in each region, 13 at-large selected teams by the NCAA and the Top 4 individuals not affiliated with a team that qualifies to nationals, will all compete November 23 in Terre Haute, Ind., at the national event.
2019 American Athletic Conference Championships
Shelby Farms Park • Memphis, Tenn.
Race #1 • Team Results • Men's 8,000m
1. Tulsa • 20
2. Temple • 68
3. UConn • 110
4. CINCINNATI • 116
5. Wichita State • 118
6. ECU • 154
7. Memphis • 169
8. Houston • 192
9. Tulane • 256
10. USF • 287
10 teams scored
Individual Results • Men's 8,000m
1. Aaron Bienenfeld • 23:43.3 • PR & Course Record • CHAMPION • All-Conference
22. Toni Banos • 25:01.9 • PR
23. Ryan Guenthner • 25:04.3
25. Tyler Wirth • 25:08.3 • PR • AAC Freshman of the Year
47. Christian Stevens • 26:00.3
57. Jase Headings • 26:26.8
63. Matt Hoak • 26:41.0
72. Jonathan Harley • 27:00.2
78. Ryan Pehlman • 27:36.4
82 runners finished
Race #2 • Team Results • Women's 6,000m
1. Tulsa • 37
2. Wichita State • 63
3. Temple • 83
4. UConn • 100
5. CINCINNATI • 106
6. ECU • 189
7. Memphis • 207
8. Houston • 225
9. SMU • 250
10. USF • 278
11. UCF • 285
12. Tulane • 306
12 teams scored
Individual Results • Women's 6,000m
5. Lauren Kemper • 20:46.4 • PR • All-Conference
11. Ellie Leather • 21:01.7 • PR • All-Conference
14. Hannah Markel • 21:06.0 • PR • All-Conference
36. Rylee Penn • 21:59.2 • PR
44. Katrina Patterson • 22:11.7 • PR
52. Olivia Tyre • 22:21.8
57. Ellee Bullock • 22:29.2 • PR
71. Sam Mikula • 22:57.7
-- Maddie Walker • did not finish
94 runners finished
Bienenfeld Wins AAC Title to Lead Stellar Performances for UC
The air might have been cold and the ground soft and muddy, but that didn't prevent the University of Cincinnati cross country teams from heating up at the right time as both teams finished in the Top 5 of the standings and Aaron Bienenfeld claimed the men's individual crown as the 2019 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships came to a close Friday morning at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tenn.
