University of Memphis Athletics
Saturday, October 29
Cincinnati, Ohio
9 am
University of Memphis
vs
American Athletic Conference
Photo by: Steve Austell
Tigers Cross Country Heads To League Championships Saturday
Oct 27, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Teams look to improve on last season's performances.
American Athletic Conference Championships Live Results
American Athletic Conference Championships Live Streaming
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In the fall of 2015, the University of Memphis cross country program made history at the American Athletic Conference Championships. This Saturday, the Tigers are looking to make more history when they travel to just outside Cincinnati, Ohio, to run in the 2016 league championships.
The women's 6k run is set to kick off the championships at 9 a.m. (CT), with the men's 8k race to follow at 9:50 a.m. (CT). Cincinnati is hosting this year's league event, and the Voice of America Metropark in West Chester Township, Ohio, located on the north side of Cincinnati, is the site for this year's championships.
Both men's and women's squads are facing tough competition Saturday. On the women's side, Memphis is one of five regionally-ranked programs entering the league championships. SMU, Tulsa, Tulane and Houston are the other ranked schools. Four men's teams bring rankings into Saturday's race, with Tulsa, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Temple all listed in their respective regional polls.
The Tigers, though, are focused on themselves, and the teams' primary goal heading into Saturday's races: stay fit and well.
"As for our preparation, we are making sure we remain healthy," said Tigers head coach Kevin Robinson. "In recent practices, we've increased their speed work and cut down their mileage. We're confident that we can run in any conditions on any course, so the course isn't a factor for us.
We've positioned ourselves well heading into this race. Our job now is to go in focused and motivated. We need to run with a chip on our shoulder and prove ourselves as a program."
Last season, the Tigers turned a few heads in the conference at the championships. The women's squad placed sixth, the program's highest finish at a league championships meet since 1991 (fifth at Great Midwest Conference Championships). In addition, Martina Rodriguez Sala made school history with her fourth-place individual performance. It was the best finish by a Tigers women's runner at a conference championships event in program history.
The women's team is looking to better its performance of a year ago, and if successful, would tie or set a school mark for best finish at a league championships race in program history. The Tigers' best marks in conference championships competition are fifth-place finishes at the 1985 and 1986 Metro Conference Championships as well as the 1991 result.
Rodriguez Sala enters the championships as the league's most consistent runner, having been named the American Athletic Conference Female Runner of the Week four times this season. The Tigers also have received strong performances from juniors Chelsea Ladd, Bailey Kennemer and Arnica Zitting in 2016.
"The women's team had a great regular season, but now, it's 'go-time,'" Robinson said. "What we've done in the regular season is behind us, and we have our eyes on this weekend's conference championships."
On the men's side, Memphis enters this season's conference championships in a nearly similar fashion as a year ago with an injury bug. At last season's championships, the Tigers ran without two of the team's top-five runners. On Saturday, the squad looks to get back to full strength with a healthy Julian Sanchez-Pinto.
Sanchez-Pinto and sophomore Matthew Viveiros had been the Tigers' proverbial 1-2 punch until the squad's last race at the Oct. 14 Crimson Classic. Sanchez-Pinto returned to run, but competed coming off his injury. With two weeks of recovery time since the last run, Memphis' hope is Sanchez-Pinto is ready to go at full strength.
At last year's championships, the men placed ninth. The top returning finishers from last season's race are junior Brock Ballard and sophomore Kaleb Simington. The men's program's best finish in recent seasons was a third-place performance at the 2013 American Athletic Conference Championships.
"We're focused on us," said Robinson. "If we run to our potential, we will compete at a high level at the conference championships this weekend. Let's not worry about what others are doing. Let's focus on what we can control and run like warriors."
American Athletic Conference Championships Live Streaming
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In the fall of 2015, the University of Memphis cross country program made history at the American Athletic Conference Championships. This Saturday, the Tigers are looking to make more history when they travel to just outside Cincinnati, Ohio, to run in the 2016 league championships.
The women's 6k run is set to kick off the championships at 9 a.m. (CT), with the men's 8k race to follow at 9:50 a.m. (CT). Cincinnati is hosting this year's league event, and the Voice of America Metropark in West Chester Township, Ohio, located on the north side of Cincinnati, is the site for this year's championships.
Both men's and women's squads are facing tough competition Saturday. On the women's side, Memphis is one of five regionally-ranked programs entering the league championships. SMU, Tulsa, Tulane and Houston are the other ranked schools. Four men's teams bring rankings into Saturday's race, with Tulsa, Cincinnati, Connecticut and Temple all listed in their respective regional polls.
The Tigers, though, are focused on themselves, and the teams' primary goal heading into Saturday's races: stay fit and well.
"As for our preparation, we are making sure we remain healthy," said Tigers head coach Kevin Robinson. "In recent practices, we've increased their speed work and cut down their mileage. We're confident that we can run in any conditions on any course, so the course isn't a factor for us.
We've positioned ourselves well heading into this race. Our job now is to go in focused and motivated. We need to run with a chip on our shoulder and prove ourselves as a program."
Last season, the Tigers turned a few heads in the conference at the championships. The women's squad placed sixth, the program's highest finish at a league championships meet since 1991 (fifth at Great Midwest Conference Championships). In addition, Martina Rodriguez Sala made school history with her fourth-place individual performance. It was the best finish by a Tigers women's runner at a conference championships event in program history.
The women's team is looking to better its performance of a year ago, and if successful, would tie or set a school mark for best finish at a league championships race in program history. The Tigers' best marks in conference championships competition are fifth-place finishes at the 1985 and 1986 Metro Conference Championships as well as the 1991 result.
Rodriguez Sala enters the championships as the league's most consistent runner, having been named the American Athletic Conference Female Runner of the Week four times this season. The Tigers also have received strong performances from juniors Chelsea Ladd, Bailey Kennemer and Arnica Zitting in 2016.
"The women's team had a great regular season, but now, it's 'go-time,'" Robinson said. "What we've done in the regular season is behind us, and we have our eyes on this weekend's conference championships."
On the men's side, Memphis enters this season's conference championships in a nearly similar fashion as a year ago with an injury bug. At last season's championships, the Tigers ran without two of the team's top-five runners. On Saturday, the squad looks to get back to full strength with a healthy Julian Sanchez-Pinto.
Sanchez-Pinto and sophomore Matthew Viveiros had been the Tigers' proverbial 1-2 punch until the squad's last race at the Oct. 14 Crimson Classic. Sanchez-Pinto returned to run, but competed coming off his injury. With two weeks of recovery time since the last run, Memphis' hope is Sanchez-Pinto is ready to go at full strength.
At last year's championships, the men placed ninth. The top returning finishers from last season's race are junior Brock Ballard and sophomore Kaleb Simington. The men's program's best finish in recent seasons was a third-place performance at the 2013 American Athletic Conference Championships.
"We're focused on us," said Robinson. "If we run to our potential, we will compete at a high level at the conference championships this weekend. Let's not worry about what others are doing. Let's focus on what we can control and run like warriors."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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