Harriers Set to Race at NCAA Great Lakes Region

// THE STARTING LINE
The University of Cincinnati cross country teams will venture to Madison, Wis., Friday to take part in the 2019 NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships, one of nine competitions being held around the nation to determine the entrants into the 2019 NCAA Championships later in November. The Bearcats women will lead things off at 11:30 a.m. CT (12:30 p.m. ET) in the 6,000m run with the men's 10,000m run to follow at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. ET). Both races will be run on the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course, the home course for the University of Wisconsin.

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// QUICK SPLITS
• The Bearcats are coming off an impressive competition at the AAC Championships where the men were fourth and the women fifth as fourth individuals earned AAC All-Conference accolades by placing in the Top 15
• Aaron Bienenfeld won the individual title in the men's race to become the first UC runner to capture an AAC cross country title (men and women) and the first conference cross country champion for the program since 2011 (Eric Finan, Big East)
• The women had three runners earn all-conference accolades, including Lauren Kemper (5), Ellie Leather (11) and Hannah Markel (14), the first awards for all three
• The last time UC had three women earn all-conference in the same meet was also the only other time it has happened, 1987
• Combined, the four honors earned for UC marked the sixth time in program history four or more awards were earned at the same XC championships with the last coming in 1997 with the men having three and the women one at the Conference USA meet

// UPDATES
The meet will be streamed live on FloTrack.com (subscription required) at bit.ly/31n7QaA. Live results will be available at PTTiming.com at pttiming.com/events/87931614.

// THE MEET & STAKES
The NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships returns to Madison for the first time since 2016 when it hosted the regional meet for the fifth year in a row. As with each previous regional meet,  the races will be used as the selection tool for the NCAA Championships (November 23) as the Top 2 teams in all nine regions will earn automatic berths into the national meet (18 teams) with 13 other teams from across the nation earning at-large selections from the NCAA following all races being completed (31 teams total). Individually, the Top 4 runners in each region not part of a qualifying team to nationals will earn individual qualification to the national meet. All told, 255 participants will be selected to compete.

// TEAMS COMPETING
Friday's race will feature runners from 34 institutions in the region with 33 teams entered in the women's 6,000m competition and 30 in the men's 10,000m race. The teams slated to compete include Akron, Ball State (W), Bowling Green, Butler, Central Michigan (M), Cincinnati, Cleveland State (W), Dayton, Detroit Mercy, Eastern Michigan, Evansville, Green Bay, IUPUI, Indiana, Indiana State (W), Kent State, Marquette, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Milwaukee, Notre Dame, Oakland, Ohio, Ohio State, Purdue, Purdue-Ft. Wayne, Toledo, Valparaiso, Western Michigan (W), Wisconsin, Wright State, Xavier and Youngstown State.

// IN THE RANKINGS
Heading in to the meet, five women's teams and five men's teams in the Great Lakes Region are currently among the USTFCCCA National Top 30 rankings. On the women's side, the ranked teams include #6 Michigan State, #7 Wisconsin, #16 Notre Dame, #20 Ohio State and #24 Butler. For the men, the ranked teams include #9 Wisconsin, #13 Indiana, #16 Central Michigan, #17 Purdue and #19 Notre Dame. According to the regional rankings, the Cincinnati men enter the meet ranked #15 this week while the women are not ranked in the Top 15.

// BACK AGAIN • PART I
The last time a UC runner competed on the Zimmer course was at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships where Aaron Bienenfeld placed 111th overall in his national debut. The then-junior rose 91 spots from the 2k split to the finish line to post the seventh-best placement in program history and the fifth-best among UC's individual qualifiers. Bienenfeld finished with a time of 30:42.8, a 39.1 second improvement over his regional time (31:21.9) two weeks earlier in Terre Haute, Ind.

// BACK AGAIN • PART II
The last time the Bearcats raced as a team in Madison, Wis., came at the 2016 NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships where the men place 17th overall and the women 21st. In that meet, the men placed two runners in the Top 100, including Dan Huben (58th) and Seamus Collins (76th), while the women were led by Juliana Madzia, who was 66th overall.

// ON THE LINE • WOMEN
Of the seven women that will line up to race Friday, four have competed in a regional competition before in their careers, including Hannah Markel, Katrina Patterson and Ellee Bullock for Cincinnati and Ellie Leather last year at Fresno State. Markel placed 87th last year and is the top returning finisher on the roster with Patterson placing 136th and Bullock 163rd in the Great Lakes while Leather was 154th in the always tough West region. Rylee Penn redshirted last year while Lauren Kemper and Maddie Walker will also make their debuts in their first seasons with the program.

// ON THE LINE • MEN
Three of the seven men set to race are back after competing last year in Terre Haute, Ind. Aaron Bienenfeld was 12th overall and qualified to the national meet while Ryan Guenthner was 114th and Toni Banos 132nd. Jonathan Harley (junior), Jase Headings (redshirt freshmen) and true freshmen Matt Hoak and Tyler Wirth all will be racing at the regional meet - and at the 10,000m distance - for the first time in their careers.

// RECAP: AAC SUCCESS
The men placed fourth overall and the women fifth as the Bearcats found great success at the AAC Championships in muddy Memphis November 1. The women placed three individuals in the Top 15 to earn all-conference honors as the team finished with its best finish in AAC history (since 2013) and its best showing since placing fourth at the 2000 Conference USA Championships. Lauren Kemper (5th), Hannah Markel (11th) and Ellie Leather (14th) all earned all-conference to mark the first time UC has had multiple honorees on the women's side in AAC history. For the men, Aaron Bienenfeld continued his dominance as he won for the third time this year and the first time at the AAC meet, capturing the title by nearly 30 seconds.

// THREE-FOR-THREE
So far this year, Bienenfeld has raced three times and won all three. He opened his season winning the Rhodes College Invitational in Memphis to preview the course to be used by the AAC for its meet, winning the 8,000m race in 24:10.1. He next won the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville as he crossed the line in the white race in 24:04.5. Finally, he returned to Memphis and won the AAC title in 23:43.3, a time that stands as a personal best. If Bienenfeld wins one more race this season, he will tie Eric Finan (2011) for the most single-season wins in UC history (through 1980).

// TROPHIES APLENTY
With four AAC All-Conference honors (three women, one man), the Bearcats captured their most all-conference accolades in a single season as member of the AAC, bettering the three earned in 2016 when one woman and three men were all Top 15 finishers. The total is the second-best in a single season in program history behind the five combined accolades at the 1993 Great Midwest meet as the men secured three honors and the women two.

// MAKING HERSTORY
With three all-conference honors, the trio of Kemper, Markel and Leather added their names to the UC record book. First, they became the first teammates to earn all-conference in the same meet as members of the AAC. They also combined to earn mulitple accolades in the same for UC for the first time since 1999 and just the fifth time ever. Lastly, the trio tied the record for the most all-conference selections in a single meet for the women, equalling the output of the 1987 squad that saw Robin Stone (5th), Becky Hutton (9th) and Mary Loebker (12th) each earn honors at the Metro Conference meet.

// HIGH FINISHES
With their individual finishes, both Bienenfeld and Kemper now rank among the best all-time in program history. Bienenfeld's win ties him for the best finish in program history (since 1980) as the sixth man to win a conference title, joining Eric Finan (2011), Jeremy Bucher (1996), Chad Disbennett (1995), Mark Rupe (1993) and Mark Gerstner (1992). On the women's side, Kemper is tied for the third-best finish in women's program history with four other runners including Mary Loebker (1988), Robin Stone (1987), Jane Skibski (1986) and Laura Caminiti (1985). Only two other runners have finished higher, including Angie Kist (1999), who as third, and Julie Snyder (1993), who was fourth.

// KEEPING UP WITH KEMPER
In early September, Lauren Kemper was starting her third year running for the UC Running Club. After finishing 12th at the Friendship Invitational - a finish that would have placed her fourth on the team - the Bearcats brought into their ranks and she has been a huge contributor since. In her first race, she finished 51st in Louisville, the second-best finish on the team. She followed that up as the team's top finisher in her next two races as she was 27th at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational (white race) and 5th at the AAC meet.

// THAT'S NOT ALL
Along with the all-conference honors, two other awards came home with the UC men. Along with Bienenfeld's individual championship trophy, Tyler Wirth was 25th overall and the top finisher among all rookies to earn the distinction as the 2019 AAC Male Freshman of the Year.

PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// CONFERENCE HONOR • BIENENFELD
Following the weekend win at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational, Bienenfeld was selected as the AAC Male Athlete of the Week, earning the weekly accolade for the second time this season and third time in his career. The award is the fourth earned by the UC men in the past two years after Andrew Schille earned the honor following his victorious run at the Queen City Invitational that opened the season. Prior to that, no UC runner (male and female) had won a weekly accolade from the American.

// THE LAST TIME • TEAM VICTORY
The last time the women won a team title came in 2010 when they won the Queen City Invitational at Voice of America MetroPark in West Chester. That day, the Bearcats scored 34 points to edge Xavier (47) and claim the team title. Individually, the Bearcats had four runners in the Top 10 with Michele McKenney winning (18:04.0) and Lilian Jelimo (18:16.0) second. Also in the Top 10 where Alison Zukowski (18:31.0) and Jill Glassmeyer (18:48.0) in fourth and 10th, respectively.

// THE LAST TIME • INDIVIDUAL VICTORY
Markel's win at the Friendship Invitational in Cedarville, Ohio (Sept. 14) was the first for the women since the 2011 VMI Relays, an event that saw individuals race the 5,000m course and two teammates add their times together for a relay time. Zukowski was the overall individual winner in 17:34.0 and combined with Kaitlyn Meyer for the relay win (36:40.0).

// DEBUTS
Nine runners made their Bearcats debuts at the QCI on opening weekend, including eight freshmen and one junior transfer. On the women's side, six newcomers wore the black and red of UC for the first time, including Ellie Leather, a junior transfer from Fresno State. The remaining five newcomers were all freshmen and included Katie Engle, Anna Evans, Carmela Hennings, Olivia Tyre and Maddie Walker. On the men's side, the trio of newcomers all were rookies and included Matt Hoak, Ryan Pehlman and Tyler Wirth. The debut list grew by two more women at the Friendship Invitational as both Rylee Penn and Leah Maschino (both of whom are redshirt freshmen) raced on the cross country course for the first time for UC. Since then, the number has grown by two men and one woman with the trio racing in Louisville. Lauren Kemper, who was racing for the UC Running Club earlier this year, joined the team at the start of October and made her debut at Louisville while Jonathan Harley raced for the first time after running the past two seasons for the Club. Jase Headings raced on the track for UC last year, but made his cross country debut in Louisville.

// NEW MEN
This year's newcomers on the men's side include true freshmen Matt Hoak (Mason, Ohio), Ryan Pehlman (Indianapolis) and Tyler Wirth (Hawley, Pa.) and Jonathan Harley (Granger, Ind.), a junior that ran the past two years with the UC Running Club. Additionally, redshirt freshman Jase Headings will be suiting up for the Bearcats in 2019.

// NEW WOMEN
The women, with a roster of 16 individuals, will see more than half as new additions in 2019. The six true freshmen set to race for UC this year include Jen Cooper (Maineville, Ohio), Katie Engle (Chagrin Falls, Ohio), Anna Evans (Mentor, Ohio), Carmela Henning (Medina, Ohio), Olivia Tyre (Troy, Ohio) and Maddie Walker (Batavia, Ohio). Additionally, both Leah Maschino and Rylee Penn will be coming off redshirt seasons this year and will be joined by junior transfer Ellie Leather, who raced at Fresno State the past two years.

// NEW NAME
Over the summer, the former Lara Crofford was wed and is back to coach once again, this time as Lara Rogers. The former standout distance runner at Nebraska and Shippensburg is entering her fifth season working with the UC women's cross country and mid-distance/distance runners on the track.

// NEXT TIME OUT
Friday's race will determine who qualifies to the NCAA Championships. Should that happen, those qualifiers would race in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday, November 23, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.