MEMPHIS, Tenn. – When the dust settled on the team competition at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, Tulsa reigned supreme in the final team standings. The Golden Hurricane became the first program in The American to sweep the meet since 2015 by taking the men’s and women’s team championships on Friday morning at Shelby Farms Park.
The Tulsa men claimed victory at the conference meet for the sixth straight year since joining The American in 2014. The 20 points scored by Tulsa established an American Cross Country Championships record, as the Golden Hurricane secured spots two through six on the final individual leaderboard. The Tulsa women’s squad earned its third championship as a member of The American, hoisting the hardware for the first time since 2015.
Cincinnati’s Aaron Bienenfeld smashed the field individually in the men’s competition, cruising to victory in what was believed to be a course-record time of 23:43.46 to take the win by nearly 30 full seconds. Tulsa’s Scott Beattie was the 8K runner-up with a time of 24:12.07, followed by teammates Isaac Akers (24:12.56), Peter Lynch (24:12.62), Patrick Dever (24:12.66) and Cameron Field (24:13.35) in third through sixth place.
Wichita State’s Ben Flowers crossed the finish line in seventh with a time of 24:17.68, UConn’s Eric Van Der Els was eighth in 24:25.65, Memphis’ Payton Gleason checked in ninth with a time of 24:27.92 and Temple’s Harry Powell rounded out the top 10 with a 24:28.98 showing. Temple’s Zach Seiger (11th, 24:29.47) and Kevin Lapsansky (12th, 24:30.00), East Carolina’s Joshua Spare (13th, 24:30.69), UConn’s Will Brisman (14th, 24:32.81) and Tulsa’s Adam Breaux (15th, 24:36.27) capped off the all-conference award winners on the men’s side.
Winny Koskei of Wichita State defended her women’s 6K crown with a first-place time of 20:14.18. Koskei became just the second women’s runner in the history of The American to defend her title, joining SMU’s Hannah Miller in 2016-17. Koskei is just the third multi-time women’s winner at the meet, along with Miller and UCF’s Anne-Marie Blaney (2013, 2016).
Rebekah Topham of Wichita State finished as the women’s runner-up with a time of 20:28.63. Caitlin Klopfer of Tulsa was third (20:34.36), followed by UConn’s Mia Nahom (fourth, 20:45.36) and Cincinnati’s Lauren Kemper (fifth, 20:46.40) in the top five.
Temple’s Grace Moore crossed the finish line in sixth with a time of 20:48.30, with Ashley Barnes (seventh, 20:54.29), Jenny O’Bryan (eighth, 20:55.41), Reagan Hausmann (ninth, 20:57.50) and Caroline Miller (10th, 21:00.93) consecutively finishing for team champion Tulsa. Cincinnati’s Ellie Leather was 11th in her first American championship (21:01.66), while Katharina Pesendorfer showed well as a freshman with a 12th-place time of 21:01.78. Wichita State’s Yazmine Wright finished 13th in 21:02.04, Cincinnati’s Hannah Markel was 14th in 21:05.94 and Temple’s Michelle Joyce rounded out all-conference selections in 15th place with a time of 21:15.06.
Tulsa’s Pesendorfer claimed American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors with her 12th-place showing in the women’s race, while Cincinnati’s Tyler Wirth claimed league Freshman of the Year accolades on the men’s side after finishing 25th overall (25:08.31). Tulsa’s Steve Gulley and his staff were named American Coaching Staff of the Year after claiming both the men’s and women’s team titles.