Men's Cross Country Wins Title, Women Second At Louisville

Saturday, September 30

Louisville, Ky.

8:30 am

University of Memphis

Greater Louisville Classic (M: 8k/W: 5k)

Arnica Zitting, 2017 Women's Cross Country

Photo by: Steve Austell

Men's Cross Country Wins Title, Women Second At Louisville

Sep 30, 2017 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Sanchez-Pinto wins men's individual crown.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Memphis senior Julian Sanchez-Pinto won the men's individual crown and senior Arnica Zitting finished second in the women's race to lead the Tigers cross country men's and women's teams at the 2017 Greater Louisville Classic Saturday.

Sanchez-Pinto won the men's 8k Blue Race in a time of 25:05.12, crossing the line over eight seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Zitting placed second in the women's 5k Blue Race in a time of 17:56.51.

The Tigers men's squad won the Classic's Blue Race. The women's team placed second in its Blue Race competition.

The Greater Louisville Classic was held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, the site of the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November.

Tigers Tidbits/Greater Louisville Classic Highlights
Men's Team

The Tigers won the Blue Race team crown. Memphis placed in front of Marquette and regional foes Austin Peay, Chattanooga and Western Kentucky.
It was Memphis' second-straight team championship this season, as it won the Sept. 23 Austin Peay Festival.
With their two team titles this season, Memphis has at least two first-place finishes in back-to-back campaigns. In 2016, the Tigers won the Rhodes College Invitational and Austin Peay Festival team championships.
Six Tigers runners placed in the top-25, with three in the top-15.
Saturday's Greater Louisville Classic was only the second 8k race of the season for the Tigers. The team's first 8k was at the Sept. 16 Rhodes College Invitational.
Sanchez-Pinto's first-place finish was the second-straight individual title for the Tigers. At the Sept. 23 Austin Peay Festival, Matthew Kamph took home the championship.
The individual crown was Sanchez-Pinto's second of his career at Memphis. He won the 2016 Austin Peay Festival race. It was the 10^th top-10 performance of his career.
Sanchez-Pinto's 8k time of 25:05.12 was nearly 15 seconds better than his previous-best at Memphis (25:20.0 at 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships). The 25:05.12 was his career-best by over 13 seconds (25:18.8 at Colby Community College; 2013 Fort Hayes State Open).
Matthew Kamph's time of 25:41.32 bettered his previous-best by over 13 seconds (25:54.5 at 2017 Rhodes College Invitational).
Kamph's seventh-place finish was the fourth top-10 performance of his career.
Matthew Viveiros ran a season-best 8k time of 25:54.12. His 13^th-place finish was his fifth top-15 showing in his two seasons at Memphis.
James Durkin and LaForrest Church both ran the second-best 8k times of their respective careers. Durkin's 26:07.52 was second to his 26:01.8 at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships. Church's 26:20.47 also was second to his 26:07.8 at last year's league championships race.
Durkin posted his sixth career top-20 finish.
Brock Ballard also logged the second-best 8k time of his career (26:22.61). He set his personal-best 8k time of 25:50.6 at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championships.

Women's Team

The Tigers were edged out by South Alabama 65-69 for the women's Blue Race team title. Memphis placed in front of Louisville and Marquette and regional foes Arkansas State and Chattanooga.
Four of the seven women's runners finished in the top-20, including three in the top-10.
Arnica Zitting placed second overall for her sixth career top-10 finish and fourth in her two seasons at Memphis.
Zitting ran a 17:56.51, which is her best 5k time in her Tigers career (2016-present). Her previous-best 5k time at Memphis was a 17:58.8 at the 2016 Brooks Twilight Classic.
Senior Megan Briley logged her third top-15 performance this season with her eighth-place finish Saturday. The eighth-place performance was the second top-10 finish of her career.
Briley's time of 18:34.78 was the second-best of her career. Her 18:34.0 at the 2014 Commodore Classic is her 5k personal-best.
Sophomore Paige Sandwell ran a personal-best 5k time of 18:40.83 Saturday, edging out her previous-best of 18:41.1 set at the Brooks Twilight Classic earlier this season.
Sandwell's ninth-place finish was her second career top-10 performance. It also was her third top-15 finish in 2017.
Senior Mary Betsy Minkler registered her best 5k time in her two seasons at Memphis Saturday (19:06.88). She also posted her third top-20 finish this season and fourth of her career.
Senior Lauren Wheeler ran a season-best 5k of 19:45.25. She improved her time by seven seconds.

2017 Greater Louisville Classic (top 5 finishes count in team score)

Women's Race (5k); Memphis Team Finish: 2^nd (69 points)

Place	Name	Time
2	Arnica Zitting	17:56.51
8	Megan Briley	18:34.78
9	Paige Sandwell	18:40.83
18	Mary Betsy Minkler	19:06.88
33	Gabrielle Byndas	19:33.69
36	Lauren Wheeler	19:45.25
43	Kristen Adams	20:12.77

Men's Race (8k); Memphis Team Finish: 1^st (62 points)

Place	Name	Time
1	Julian Sanchez-Pinto	25:05.12
7	Matthew Kamph	25:41.32
13	Matthew Viveiros	25:54.12
19	James Durkin	26:07.52
22	LaForrest Church	26:20.47
23	Brock Ballard	26:22.61
52	Joshua Hamlet	27:29.83