University of Memphis Athletics
Saturday, October 1
Louisville, Ky.
8 am
University of Memphis
at
Greater Louisville Classic
Photo by: Steve Austell
Tigers Women's Cross Country Posts Solid Performance Saturday
Oct 01, 2016 | Women's Cross Country
Team places 14th, three runners record career-best 5k times.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Memphis senior Martina Rodriguez Sala placed second overall and led the Tigers women's cross country team to a 14th-place performance at Saturday's Greater Louisville Classic. Three of the five Tigers whose finishes counted in the team score, including Rodriguez Sala, recorded personal-bests.
Memphis placed 14th in the 5k Gold Race with 410 points. The Greater Louisville Classic Gold Race is one of the nation's top competitions each season.
"In all, we had a solid day," said head coach Kevin Robinson. "But, we must close our gaps in order to be successful. We need to close our gaps, especially between our No. 4 and No. 5 runners.
"Obviously, Martina ran a phenomenal race and posted a lifetime best. Chelsea had a great run and keeps getting better. We also got solid performances from Bailey and Arnica, and Megan ran a season-best. As a team, we have the ability to run well, and we are very close."
Rodriguez Sala finished second overall in a career-best 5k time of 16:50.30. She shattered her previous best by over 34 seconds. Her previous career-best 5k time was 17:24.88 set at this year's Brooks Twilight Classic Sept. 3.
Junior Chelsea Ladd was the second Tiger to cross the finish line in 37th place. She ran a career-best 5k time of 17:34.30. Her previous 5k best was 17:37.2 set in this year's Brooks Twilight Classic.
Sophomore Bailey Kennemer and junior Arnica Zitting placed in the top-100 of Saturday's race. Kennemer was 94th in a personal-best time of 18:08.00, and Zitting came in 99th in a time of 18:10.90. Kennemer's time was just over two seconds better than her previous best of 18:10.8 set at this year's Brooks Twilight Classic. Junior Megan Briley placed 178th in a season-best time of 18:55.6.
The Tigers return to action Oct. 14 when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to run in the Crimson Classic.   Â
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Memphis Women's Results (Team Finish: 14th)/Women's Race: 5k
2. Martina Rodriguez Sala            16:50.30
37. Chelsea Ladd             17:34.30
94. Bailey Kennemer           18:08.00
99. Arnica Zitting              18:10.80
178. Megan Briley             18:55.60
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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