Tulsa Cross Country Teams Dominate for Sweep of Men’s and Women’s American Athletic Conference Championships

Friday, November 1

Memphis, Tenn.

TBA

Tulsa

American Athletic Conference Championships

AAC: 2019 Cross Country Championships - Men's and Women's Champions

Photo by: (Joe Murphy/American Athletic Conference)

Tulsa Cross Country Teams Dominate for Sweep of Men’s and Women’s American Athletic Conference Championships

11/1/2019 1:32:00 PM | Cross Country

Tulsa men have won all 6 American titles; Tulsa women capture 3rd AAC crown in last 6 years

The Tulsa men's and women's cross-country teams captured American Athletic Conference championships on Friday morning at Shelby Farms Park in Germantown, Tenn. The heavy rains from the past few days gave way to a great morning for racing with clear skies and temperatures in the 40s.

It's the 6^th straight men's American title and their 10 consecutive conference championship, while the women's team has now won 5 conference crowns since 2010, including 3 American Athletic Conference titles. The two teams have swept both the men's and women's titles in 2014, 2015 and now 2019.

"It was a great day for The University of Tulsa," Head Coach Steve Gulley said. "We are really happy. Both teams did a great job of sticking to the game plan and executing it. The men stayed together through the end. They don't get caught up on who crosses first, so we had five guys finish within a second of each other. Caitlin got beat by two really good girls, but she improved on her position from last year. We are extremely pleased, but no matter what, you feel pressure to get the job done. You can only control certain things, but everyone kept their composure out there on the course and I'm extremely happy with today."

56967 — American Athletic Conference Men's and Women's Coaching Staff of the Year

The nation's 6^th-ranked Golden Hurricane men put together a dominant performance in the 8K race capturing places No. 2 through 6 and adding 15^th and 16^th place finishes. The Tulsa women had 5 top-10 performances in the 6K competition.

Tulsa scored 20 points in the men's race, followed by second-place Temple (68), UConn (110), Cincinnati (116), Wichita State (118), ECU (154), Memphis (169), Houston (192), Tulane (256) and USF (287).

Pacing the Hurricane men was junior Scott Beattie with a time of 24:12.07 for second place, while sophomore Isaac Akers took 3^rd place (24:12.56), junior Peter Lynch 4^th (24:12.62), junior Patrick Dever 5th (24:12.66) and senior Cameron Field in 6^th place (24:13.35). Adam Breaux and Reed Sahadevan placed 15^th and 16^th finishing with time of 24:36.27 and 24:37.80, respectively, in the field of 82 participants.

Ryan Shumaker and Colton Palmer also raced today, finishing 36^th in a time of 25:39.55 and 45^th in a time of 25:58.52, but only the top seven finishers count toward the team score.

For the women, Tulsa captured 37 points to outdistance second-place Wichita State (63), followed by Temple (83), UConn (100), Cincinnati (106), ECU (189), Memphis (207), Houston (225), SMU (250), USF (278), UCF (285) and Tulane (306).

Tulsa junior Caitlin Klopfer finished in 3^rd place behind two Wichita State runners with a time of 20:34.36. Tulsa wrapped up places No. 7 through 10 as senior Ashley Barnes finished in 7^th place in a time of 20:54.29 and was followed by junior Jenny O'Bryan for 8^th(20:55.41), junior Reagan Hausmann in 9^th (20:57.50) and sophomore Caroline Miller in 10^th place (21,00.93).

Freshman Katharina Pesendorfer placed 12^th overall with a time of 21:01.78 and sophomore Alice Newcombe had a 20^th place finish in a time of 21:28.68.

Adrena Mazzei and Keely Jones also raced today, finishing 26^th in a time of 21:39.51 and 31^st in a time of 21:52.37, but only the top seven finishers count toward the team score.

In addition to sweeping the titles, Tulsa's Steve Gulley and his coaching staff also swept the Coach of the Year awards in the league, while the freshman Pesendorfer was named the American's Freshman of the Year.

Beattie, Akers, Lynch, Dever, Field and Breaux all earned all-conference honors on the men's side, while Klopfer, Barnes, O'Bryan, Hausmann, Miller and Pesendorfer all picked up all-conference accolades on the women's side.

The Tulsa teams will be in action next at the NCAA Midwest Regional Meet, November 15, in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Tulsa Results
Men's 8K AAC Championship

Men's 8K AAC Championship
2. Scott Beattie – 24:12.07
3. Isaac Akers – 24:12.56
4. Peter Lynch – 24:12.62
5. Patrick Dever – 24:12.66
6. Cameron Field – 24:13.35
15. Adam Breaux – 24:36.27
16. Reed Sahadevan – 24:37.80
36. Ryan Shumaker – 25:39.55
45. Colton Palmer – 25:58.52

Women's 6K AAC Championship
3. Caitlin Klopfer – 20:34.36
7. Ashley Barnes – 20:54.29
8. Jenny O'Bryan – 20:55.41
9. Reagan Hausmann – 20:57.50
10. Caroline Miller – 21:00.93
12. Katharina Pesendorfer – 21:01.78
20. Alice Newcombe – 21:28.68
26. Adrena Mazzei – 21:39.51
31. Keely Jones – 21:52.37