Tigers Cross Country Shows Promise In Season Opener

Saturday, September 3

Memphis, Tenn.

9 pm

University of Memphis

Brooks Twilight Classic

Brock Ballard, 2014-15 Men's Cross Country

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Cross Country Shows Promise In Season Opener

Sep 04, 2016 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

2016 Brooks Twilight Classic/Men's Results 2016 Brooks Twilight Classic/Women's Results

Men's team sixth, women fourth in Brooks Twilight Classic Saturday night.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In late action Saturday night, the University of Memphis men's and women's cross country squads had strong performances at the 14^th-annual Brooks Twilight Classic, which was run at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

The women's 5k race began at 9:20 p.m. (CT), and the men's four-mile run followed at 10 p.m. (CT).

The Tigers men's team placed sixth and the women fourth out of 25 teams.

"All in all, it was a positive start to the season," said head coach Kevin Robinson. "I was pleased with Julian's first race as a Tiger. He stepped up very well.

"On the women's side, our top four ran a great race. If we can close the gap between our fourth and fifth runners, then we can have a good season. We need to stay focused on incremental improvements and staying healthy."

It was the fifth time in six seasons the men's squad placed in the top-six at the Brooks Twilight Classic. The sixth-place finish tied for the program's fourth-best showing in the event.

For the women, Saturday's fourth-place finish tied the program's fourth-place performance in 2014. The last time a Tigers women's team placed higher at the Brooks Twilight Classic was in 2003 when it finished second. Saturday's performance was the program's fourth top-five team finish in the event's history.

The women's squad had four of its top-five runners place in the top-20. Senior Martina Rodriguez Sala led the way with a fourth-place finish. Her time of 17:24.88 was nearly a minute better than last year's mark (18:14.88).

Chelsea Ladd also finished in the top-10, crossing the line in seventh place in a time of 17:37.21. Her time was over a minute better than her previous best (18:37.60) in the race two years ago. Arnica Zitting (13^th; 17:58.71) and Bailey Kennemer (20^th; 18:10.76) had top-20 performances.

On the men's side, junior college transfer Julian Sanchez-Pinto led the Tigers with an eighth-place finish in a time of 20:02.36. Matthew Viveiros, a midseason transfer from Bethel University in 2015-16, was the squad's second finisher, crossing the line in 24^th place (20:33.70).

Brock Ballard, the men's third-highest finisher for a second-straight year, improved his place and time from the 2015 Brooks Twilight Classic, finishing 53^rd in a time of 21:12.68 Saturday night. At the 2015 event, Ballard was 66^th at 21:34.08.

Memphis Men's Results (Team Finish: 6^th)/Men's Race: 4 miles
8. Julian Sanchez-Pinto 20:02.36
24. Matthew Viveiros 20:33.70
53. Brock Ballard 21:12.68
65. Kaleb Simington 21:28.94
80. James Durkin 21:45.70

Memphis Women's Results (Team Finish: 4^th)/Women's Race: 5k
4. Martina Rodriguez Sala 17:24.88
7. Chelsea Ladd 17:37.21
13. Arnica Zitting 17:58.71
20. Bailey Kennemer 18:10.76
68. Mary Minkler 19:35.97