Men’s Results | Women’s Results | Photo Gallery
NEW ORLEANS, LA. – American Athletic Conference cross country teams battled wet, muddy and humid conditions in the 2018 conference championships at the Golf Club at Audubon Park in New Orleans on Thursday morning, as the Wichita State women earned their first conference title, while the Tulsa men won their fifth-straight championship.
The rain poured down, as the women started off the championships running the 6,200-meter course in a close trek for first place. The top-three teams finished within four points of each other.
The Shockers moved up five spots from last year’s conference race, placing four runners in the top 20 for 63 points—two points ahead of runner-up Tulsa (65 points). Winny Koskei, The American’s outdoor track and field 5,000 and 10,000-meter champion, led the pack, running ahead of SMU’s Svenja Ojstersek and 2017 individual champion Hannah Miller to claim the individual title with a time of 21:51.96. She improved 17 spots from last year’s conference championship race. Behind her in third place was Rebekah Topham (22:16.50). Winnie Kibet took the final All-Conference spot for the Shockers, coming in 15th, as Yazmine Wright and Rita Schnacker each earned key points finishing 18th and 26th, respectively.
Tulsa has been a top-four finisher since joining the league in 2014. The Golden Hurricane earned their fourth podium finish with all seven of their top runners finishing in the top 30. Caitlin Klopfer (sixth), Jenny O’Bryan (seventh) and Ashley Barnes (12th) each had All-Conference performances, as the team averaged a time of 23:16.17. Barnes earned her second-straight conference championship top-15 performance.
Temple followed two points behind with 67 for a second-consecutive third-place finish. Each of its runners ran for a top-30 spot, as Lucy Jones led the Owls in 10th place (23:02.22) for her second-career All-Conference nod. Michelle Joyce (11th) and Helene Holm Gottlieb (13th) joined her in the top 15.
Last year’s runner-up SMU finished fourth place with 88 points. Ojstersek (22:06.38) and Miller (22:33.01) finished second and fourth place, respectively. Miller has finished in the top-four for the past three years. Anneke Grogan also was in the top 10 for the Mustangs with an eighth-place finish.
After winning its first conference title in 2017, UConn had several returners from its championship team but finished fifth to round off the top five with 89 points. For a second-straight year, a Husky earned the Freshman of the Year honor with Jaclyn Gallery finishing fifth place with a time of 22:51.52 to clinch the award. Last year’s third-place finisher, Mia Nahom, earned a second top-10 finish, coming in ninth place for a spot on the All-Conference list. ECU’s Anna Bristle (23:21.66) also earned an All-Conference spot, finishing 14th.
The rain slowed down but didn’t stop throughout the men’s 8,400-meter race, as seven Tulsa runners had a top-25 performance, averaging a time of (27:40.61) for 32 points—19 points ahead of second-place Temple. Tulsa remains the only current American member to win a men’s cross country title, as it marked the fourth time in conference history that six Golden Hurricane athletes finished in the top 15 to earn an All-Conference honor.
Tulane’s Emmanuel Rotich successfully defended his title, claiming the first-place spot in the race after clocking a time of 27:06.09. He joins Tulsa’s Marc Scott in becoming the second American athlete to win back-to-back individual men’s titles. Last year’s top freshman finisher, Scott Beattie of Tulsa, was this year’s runner up, finishing in 27:09.02. Teammates Peter Lynch (fourth), Cameron Field (seventh) and Isaac Akers (eighth) also claimed a top-10 spot. Akers earned this season’s Freshman of the year award after crossing the line ahead of all first-year runners. Austin Del Rosso and Adam Breaux joined them on the All-Conference list.
Temple ran for its best finish at an American championship with four All-Conference athletes, including three runners in the top 10 for 51 points. Zach Seiger (27:34.66) and Kristian Holm Jensen (27:40.12) ran side-by-side, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively to lead the Owls. Louis Corgliano (10th) and Kevin Lapsansky (14th) also earned All-Conference finishes.
UConn, last year’s runner-up, came in third place this year with 91 points. The Huskies have been a top-four team in each American championship. Patrick Begley (ninth) and Kyle Brackman (13th) each had second-straight All-Conference finishes to lead UConn, as the team placed five of its top-seven runners in the top 30.
Wichita State improved from its fifth-place finish last year to placing fourth this season with 109 points. Reigning conference indoor track and field mile champion Zack Penrod led the Shockers in 17th place (28:29.41). Cincinnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld recorded the best finish for a Cincinnati runner in an American race, coming in third place with a time of 27:11.54. Nick Grismer (20) and Andrew Schille (26) also had top-30 performances to help the Bearcats clinch fifth place with 138 points. Tulane freshman Evans Kipchumba claimed the final All-Conference spot, finishing 15th in 28:25.47.
Tulsa and Wichita State each earned Staff of the Year honors for leading their teams to American titles. Up next, The American’s cross country teams will gear up for their respective NCAA Regional races on November 9.
Team Results - Women
1. Wichita State (63)
2. Tulsa (65)
3. Temple (67)
4. SMU (88)
5. UConn (89)
6. ECU (162)
7. Houston (197)
8. Cincinnati (225)
9. UCF (292)
10. Memphis (301)
11. Tulane (303)
12. USF (334)
Team Results- Men
1. Tulsa (32)
2. Temple (51)
3. UConn (91)
4. Wichita State (109)
5. Cincinnati (138)
6. Tulane (160)
7. Memphis (178)
8. ECU (209)
9. Houston (220)
10. USF (310)
All-Conference (Top 15 Finishers) - Men
1. Emmanuel Rotich, Tulane
2. Scott Beattie, Tulsa
3. Aaron Bienenfeld, Cincinnati
4. Peter Lynch, Tulsa
5. Zach Seiger, Tulsa
6. Kristian Holm Jensen, Temple
7. Cameron Field, Tulsa
8. Isaac Akers, Tulsa
9. Patrick Begley, UConn
10. Louis Corgliano, Temple
11. Austin Del Rosso, Tulsa
12. Adam Breaux, Tulsa
13. Kyle Brackman, UConn
14. Kevin Lapsansky, Temple
15. Evans Kipchumba, Tulane
All-Conference (Top 15 Finishers) - Women
1. Winny Koskei, Wichita State
2. Svenja Ojstersek, SMU
3. Rebekah Topham, Wichita State
4. Hannah Miller, SMU
5. Jaclyn Gallery, UConn
6. Caitlin Klopfer, Tulsa
7. Jenny O’Bryan, Tulsa
8. Anneke Grogan, SMU
9. Mia Nahom, UConn
10. Lucy Jones, Temple
11. Michelle Joyce, Temple
12. Ashley Barnes, Tulsa
13. Helene Holm Gottlieb, Temple
14. Anna Bristle, ECU
15. Winnie Kibet, Wichita State
Coaching Staff of the Year - Women
Wichita State
Coaching Staff of the Year – Men
Tulsa
Freshman of the Year – Women
Jaclyn Gallery, UConn
Freshman of the Year – Men
Isaac Akers, Tulsa