Tigers Cross Country Sweeps Austin Peay Invite Crowns

Saturday, September 24

Clarksville, Tenn.

9 am

University of Memphis

Austin Peay Invitational

Megan Briley, 2016 Women's Cross Country

Photo by: Steve Austell

Tigers Cross Country Sweeps Austin Peay Invite Crowns

Sep 25, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Austin Peay Invitational/Men's Results Austin Peay Invitational/Women's Results

Sanchez-Pinto takes men's championship.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – For the second week in a row, the University of Memphis men's and women's cross country teams swept titles, this time at Saturday's Austin Peay Invitational. The previous Saturday (Sept. 17), the Tigers men's and women's squads won both championships at the Rhodes College Invitational.

Due to some electronic timing issues, the Austin Peay Invitational official results did not become available until early Sunday morning.

Memphis won the men's 4-mile race with a total of 39 points. The Tigers had the race's top-three finishers and also had all five scorers in the top-25. The Tigers took the women's 5k run with 53 points, placing three runners in the top-10.

It is the first time in school history that both the men's and women's teams won two titles in the same season. The last time the men's cross country program placed first in two events in the same season was 1998. That season, the Tigers won the USF and Plough Park invitationals. The men's program also won two championships in 1989.

On the women's side, the last time Memphis won two crowns in the same campaign was in 1990. That season, the Tigers took first place in their own Tiger Invitational and the Arkansas State Pizza Inn-dian Invitational. The women's program also won three titles in the 1988 campaign.

Junior college transfer Julian Sanchez-Pinto won the Austin Peay Invitational men's individual crown, crossing the finish line first in a time of 21:06. Sanchez-Pinto is the first Tiger to take an individual title since James Maglasang won the 2013 Rhodes Invitational.

Finishing just behind Sanchez-Pinto were sophomore Matthew Viveiros and freshman Matthew Kamph. Viveiros was second in a time of 21:16, and Kamph third in a time of 22:14. The two other top-25 performers were sophomore Kaleb Simington in 12^th (22:47) and junior Brock Ballard in 21^st (23:17).

The women's team win was impressive in the fact that head coach Kevin Robinson sat his top-six runners to give them rest for next Saturday's Greater Louisville Classic. The team victory also showed the depth of the 2016 squad.

Leading the way for the Tigers women's team was freshman Paige Sandwell, who placed third overall in a 5k time of 18:57. Right behind Sandwell in fourth place was junior Megan Briley, who finished in a time of 19:07. Junior Lauren Wheeler was Memphis' third runner in the top-10, placing seventh in a time of 19:23.

Abigail Tankersley (18^th; 20:01) and Meghan Christensen (21^st; 20:13) rounded out the team's top-five.

The Tigers women's squad returns to action Oct. 1 when they travel to Louisville, Ky., to compete in the Greater Louisville Classic. The meet begins at 8 a.m. (CT). The men's team next race is Oct. 14 at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Memphis Men's Results (Team Finish: 1^ST)/Men's Race: 4 mile
1. Julian Sanchez-Pinto 21:06
2. Matthew Viveiros 21:16
3. Matthew Kamph 22:14
12. Kaleb Simington 22:47
21. Brock Ballard 23:17

Memphis Women's Results (Team Finish: 1^st)/Women's Race: 5k
3. Paige Sandwell 18:57
4. Megan Briley 19:07
7. Lauren Wheeler 19:23
18. Abigail Tankersley 20:01
21. Meghan Christensen 20:13