Tulsa Cross-Country Teams Sweep AAC Championships for Second Straight Year

Saturday, February 6

Wichita, Kan.

TBA

Tulsa

American Athletic Conference Championship

Photo by: Ben Solomon/American Athletic Co

Tulsa Cross-Country Teams Sweep AAC Championships for Second Straight Year

2/6/2021 4:19:00 PM | Cross Country

Tulsa men have won all 7 American titles; Tulsa women capture 4th AAC crown in last 7 years

WOMEN'S RESULTS I MEN'S RESULTS

AUGUSTA, Kan. –– A familiar sight emerged during the 2020 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships that fans of The American have grown familiar to witnessing. When all was said and done at the 4 Mile Creek Resort on Saturday morning, Tulsa was once again raising the team hardware for both women and men.

Amidst 30-degree temperatures and slight snow flurries, The Tulsa men captured its seventh straight American Athletic Conference Championship, while the women hoisted the AAC trophy for the fourth time in Tulsa's seven years as a conference member and for the second consecutive year. It's the fourth time that the two teams have swept The American titles (2014, 2015, 2019 and 2020).

Patrick Dever and Scott Beattie finished one-two in the men's race, while Caitlin Klopfer was the second-place finisher for the women.

Overall, the AAC crown was the men's 11^th straight league title after winning the final four as a Conference USA member.

The nation's 4^th-ranked Golden Hurricane men put together another dominant performance at the league meet, capturing five of the top seven places in the 8K race and placing all nine runners among the top 23 in the field of 66 runners.

Tulsa scored 20 points for the second straight year in the men's race, followed by second-place Cincinnati (54), Temple (93), Wichita State (112), Memphis (131), ECU (146), Houston (202) and USF (227). For the second consecutive championship the 20 points is the lowest team score in AAC history.

Dever won the individual crown with a time of 23:28.82, while Beattie placed 2^nd for the third straight year at the conference meet, clocking a time of 23:34.76 today. Fellow senior Peter Lynch turned in a top-5 finish in 4^th place in a time of 23:58.62.

Rounding out Tulsa runners in the top-10 include junior Isaac Akers in 6^th place (24:12.39), senior Cameron Field in 7^th place (24:35.62) and freshman Shay McEvoy in 10^th place with a time of 24:43.26.

McEvoy's 10^th place finish earned the newcomer from Kilkenny, Ireland, the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors

Christian Baker in 12^th place and Reed Sahadevan in 16^th place gave the Hurricane eight runners among the top-20, while redshirt freshman Malte Propp finished in 23^rd place.

For the women, Tulsa captured 40 points to outdistance second-place Wichita State (61), while followed by Cincinnati (70), Temple (104), UCF (143), ECU (153), SMU (164), Houston (220), Memphis (263) and USF (273).

Caitlin Klopfer is runner-up at AAC Championship — Caitlin Klopfer finishes in second place.

Klopfer finished in 2^nd place behind three-time AAC champion Winny Koskei of Wichita State with a time of 20:34.36. It was Klopfer's third straight top-6 appearance at the league meet and her best yet, as she placed 6^th in 2018 and 3^rd a year ago.

Klopfer turned in a 6K time today of 20:53.89, just four seconds behind Koskei.

Sophomore Katherina Pesendorfer placed 6^th overall with a time of 21:25.24 and junior Caroline Miller placed 7^th in a time of 21:33.12 to give the Hurricane three runners among the top-10.

Freshman Abbey Yuhasz placed just outside of the top-10 with an 11^th place finish in a time of 21:53.40. The Hurricane had four more runners finish among the top-20 as Jenny O'Bryan placed 14^th in a time of 22:03.75, Alice Newcombe had a 17^th place finish in a time of 22:11.36, Chloe Hershenow 19^th with a time of 22:17.17 and Keely Jones in 20^th place at 22:17.55.

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.

Team Results
            Men's 8K AAC Championship
1.         Tulsa                20
2.         Cincinnati 54
3.         Temple 93
4.         Wichita State 112
5.         Memphis         131
6.         ECU                146
7.         Houston 202
8.         USF 227

Women's 6K AAC Championship
1.         Tulsa                40
2.         Wichita State 61
3.         Cincinnati 70
4.         Temple 104
5.         UCF 143
6.         ECU                 153
7.         SMU 164
8.         Houston 220
9.         Memphis 263
10.       USF                  273

Top-5 Individuals
Men's 8K AAC Championship (field of 66 runners)
1.      Patrick Dever, Tulsa                  23:28.82
2.      Scott Beattie, Tulsa 23:34.76
3.      Aaron Bienenfeld, Cincinnati 23:36.99
4.      Peter Lynch, Tulsa 23:58.62
5.      Alec Sandusky, Cincinnati 24:05.37

Women's 6K AAC Championship (field of 78 runners)
1.      Winny Kosskei, Wichita State 20:49.24
2.      Caitlin Klopfer, Tulsa                 20:53.89
3.      Ellie Leather, Cincinnati 21:06.14
4.      Valerie Lastra, UCF 21:10.55
5.      Yazmine Wright, Wichita State 21:12.30

Tulsa Individual Results
Men's 8K AAC Championship
1.      Patrick Dever – 23:28.82
2.      Scott Beattie – 23:34.76
4.      Peter Lynch – 23:58.62
6.      Isaac Akers – 24:12.39
7.      Cameron Field – 24:35.62
10.    Shay McEvoy – 24:43.36
12.    Christian Baker – 24:51.57
16.    Reed Sahadevan – 25:04.64
23.    Malte Propp – 25:07.87

Women's 6K AAC Championship
2.      Caitlin Klopfer – 20:53.89
6.      Katharina Pesendorfer – 21:25.24
7.      Carolina Miller – 21:33.12
11.    Abbey Yuhasz – 21:53.40
14.    Jenny O'Bryan – 22:03.75
17.    Alice Newcombe – 22:11.36
19.    Chloe Hershenow – 22:17.17
20.    Keely Jones – 22:17.55
39.    Layla Roebke – 22:53.92