Tulsa Runners Dominate American Athletic Conference Championships

Friday, October 29

Tampa, Fla.

All Day

Tulsa

American Cross Country Championships

Photo by: Mary Holt/American Athletic Conference

Tulsa Runners Dominate American Athletic Conference Championships

10/29/2021 11:51:00 AM | Cross Country

Men win eighth straight AAC title ; Women get third in a row, fifth overall

MEN'S RESULTS (PDF) | WOMEN'S RESULTS (PDF) | RESULTS (WEB)

Lakeland, Fla. –– For the third consecutive season, the University of Tulsa men's and women's cross-country teams swept the team titles at the American Athletic Conference Championships after both teams put on dominating performances at Holloway Park on Friday morning.

For the men, it was their eighth straight AAC title since joining the conference in 2014, but the 12th consecutive title dating back to 2010, where the men's team won its final four as a member of Conference USA. The women hoisted the trophy for the third time in a row, and fifth as a member of The American. This was the fifth time the Hurricane have swept the team titles (2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021).

Scott_Beattie_Champion — Scott Beattie Wins Individual Title

Scott Beattie took home the individual title after finishing runner-up in the previous three conference championships. He powered the Tulsa men with a course-record time of 23:49.2. Right behind him was teammate Peter Lynch, who clocked a blistering 23:54.0 to finish as the runner-up.

The 9th-ranked Golden Hurricane set a team record of its own with a 19-point performance, besting the previous record set by the Hurricane in each of the past two seasons. The second-place finisher was Wichita State with 63 points, giving Tulsa an astounding 44-point win. TU had five of the top seven runners, and eight who finished in the top-20.

"They're coming together better than we thought at this point," head coach Steve Gulley said, "We held one or two people out, but we were prouder of the back half of the team really stepping up and improving. Constantly improving is a big key for us."

Michael Power and Shay McEvoy earned top-five finishes. Power placed fourth with a time of 24:03.5, while McEvoy was on his heels in fifth at 24:04.2. Freshman Chris McLeod navigated the course in 24:24.8 to take seventh, which earned him the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors.

Malte Propp in 13th, and Christian Baker and Michael Gates in 15th and 16th respectively gave Tulsa eight top-20 finishers. Max Nores closed Tulsa's account in 41st.

Tulsa's top seven runners all earned All-Conference honors for their performance at the championship meet.

The Tulsa women finished with 48 points, besting second-place Cincinnati (91 points) by a lengthy 43-point margin, more than double last season's gap (21). The Hurricane had three top-10 runners and six who finished in the top 20.

Tulsa_Women_AAC CHAMPS — 2021 Women's AAC Champions

"We weren't sure what was going to happen when the gun went off, but the experience we've had the past few seasons really paid off," Gulley said. "We have a little more seniority, more experience coming back, and it showed today. It's more of a mental race than a physical one, and I think they really stepped up."

Caroline Miller paced the team with a fourth-place finish in a time of 21:28.2. Chloe Hershenow clocked a time of 21:34.9 to take sixth, and in seventh was Katharina Pesendorfer in a time of 21:36.9.

Alice Newcombe and Chloe McEachern finished back-to-back in 15th and 16th, which Newcombe running in 22:03.0 and McEachern finishing the 6K in 22:10.9. Freshman Sara Scott rounded out the top-20 with a course time of 22:17.8. Keely Jones placed 21st and Layla Roebke took 29th to ensure all Tulsa runners finished in the top-30.

Four Hurricane women earned All-Conference Honors for finishing in the top-15.

In addition to the team titles, the coaching staff swept the Coach of the Year awards as well. Head coach Steve Gulley was named American Women's Coach of the Year, and assistant coach Taylor Gulley was honored as American Men's Coach of the Year.

Team Results
Men's 8K AAC Championships

Tulsa 19 pts
Wichita State 63 pts
Cincinnati 79 pts
Temple 114 pts
Memphis 150 pts
East Carolina 172 pts
Houston 184 pts
Tulane 224 pts
South Florida 236 pts

Women's 6K AAC Championships

Tulsa 48 pts
Cincinnati 91 pts
Temple 93 pts
SMU 101 pts
East Carolina 137 pts
Wichita State 165 pts
UCF 171 pts
Houston 182 pts
Memphis 214 pts
Tulane 254 pts
South Florida 303 pts

Top-5 Individuals
Men's 8K AAC Championship (Field of 73)
1.    Scott Beattie, Tulsa 23:49.2
2.    Peter Lynch, Tulsa 23:54.0
3.    Alec Sandusky, Cincinnati            23:57.8
4.    Michael Power, Tulsa 24:03.5
5.    Shay McEvoy, Tulsa                   24:04.2

Women's 6K AAC Championship (Field of 91)
1.    Yazmine Wright, Wichita State 21:03.3
2.    Kaitlyn Gearin, SMU 21:18.7
3.    Michelle Joyce, Temple 21:21.0
4.    Caroline Miller, Tulsa 21:28.2
5.    Maddie Walker, Cincinnati          21:30.6

Tulsa Individual Results
Men's 8K Results
1.    Scott Beattie 23:49.2
2.    Peter Lynch 23:54.0
4.    Michael Power 23:03.5
5.    Shay McEvoy                  24:04.2
7.    Chris McLeod                  24:24.8
13. Malte Propp                     24:43.2
15. Christian Baker                24:49.4
16. Michael Gates                  24:51.5
41. Max Nores                       26:08.8

Women's 6K Results
4.    Caroline Miller                 21:28.2
6.    Chloe Hershenow            21:34.9
7.    Katharina Pesendorfer 21:36.9
15. Alice Newcombe              22:03.0
16. Chloe McEachern 22:10.9
20. Sara Scott 22:17.8
21. Keely Jones 22:24.3
29. Layla Roebke 22:36.6

Tulsa All-Conference Honors
Men
1.    Scott Beattie
2.    Peter Lynch
3.    Michael Power
4.    Shay McEvoy
5.    Chris McLeod
6. Malte Propp
7. Christian Baker

Women
1.    Caroline Miller
2. Chloe Hershenow
3.   Katharina Pesendorfer
4. Alice Newcombe