September 22 Results:
Men’s Results
| Houston |
Texas A&M Invite |
RECAP |
| USF |
Mountain Dew Invite |
RECAP |
| Tulane |
Texas A&M Invite |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
Chile Pepper Invite |
RECAP |
Women’s Results
| UCF |
Mountain Dew Invite |
RECAP |
| Houston |
Texas A&M Invite |
RECAP |
| USF |
Mountain Dew Invite |
RECAP |
| Tulane |
Texas A&M Invite |
RECAP |
| Wichita State |
Chile Pepper Invite |
RECAP |
Highlights
Five American Athletic Conference cross country programs were in action this weekend, as the league is up to 16 team titles and 17 individual titles in 2018.
- Running for the first time this season, 2017 American cross country men’s champion Emmanuel Rotich of Tulane made his presence felt when he won the Texas A&M Invitational at Watts Cross Country Course on Saturday morning. Rotich crossed the finish line on the 8K course in 23:43.3, helping the Green Wave men to a fifth-place team finish with 165 points. The Tulane women came in 11th place with 275 points and Mckenzie Melius as their top finisher as an individual.
- Houston joined Tulane in competing at the Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday. Meredith Sorensen picked up a top-10 finish, while the women's team finished sixth and the men finished 10th. The Cougar's top finisher for the men was freshman Gabe Armijo who crossed the line in 25:17.2 to place 20th.
- UCF bettered its team’s PRs at the Mountain Dew Invitational on Saturday morning. The Knights finished ninth as a squad in the 27-team field at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. UCF’s 256 points put them ahead of Jacksonville, Florida Atlantic, Miami, USF and Stetson in the team standings. A trio of Knights finished in the top 50, and all seven competitors finished in the top 125 out the 270 runners at the 5K race. Charlotte Crook was the first Knight across the finish line in Gainesville, lowering her previous best mark by more than 45 seconds (18:09.2).
- USF also ran at the Mountain Dew Invitational with a sixth-place finish from its men's team and an 11th-place showing by its women's team. Evan Babatz placed 31st and was the top finisher for USF for the first time in his career with a personal-best time of 26:42.24. For the women, Yaranel Abreu turned in a personal-best time of 18:58.91 to finish first for USF and 49th overall.
- Wichita State’s women's team finished second, while the men's team placed fifth Saturday morning at the 30th Annual Chile Pepper Festival. The Shocker women placed two runners is the top five with Winny Koskei, The American outdoor track and field 10,000m and 5000m champion, finishing third with a PR time of 16:36.5. Rebekah Topham rounded out the top-5 finishing fifth with a time of 17:00.3. The men's team finished fifth with 174 points, including three Shockers finishing in the top 35. Zack Penrod led the group, finishing 20th with a time of 25:03.6.