Cross Country Runs In Friday's Crimson Classic

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Memphis senior Julian Sanchez-Pinto, sophomore Matthew Kamph and senior Arnica Zitting all logged top-35 finishes to pace the Tigers cross country men's and women's teams at the 2017 Crimson Classic Friday.

Sanchez-Pinto was the men's top finisher at 20^th, and was closely followed by Kamph at 21^st. Zitting was the women's top performer, crossing the finish line in 32^nd place.

The Tigers men's squad finished 11^th, and the women were 16^th.

The Crimson Classic was held at the Harry Pritchett Running Park, the site of the 2017 NCAA South Region Cross Country Championships in November.

Tigers Tidbits/Crimson Classic Highlights

Women's Team

The Tigers ran in a 31-team field that featured over 275 runners.
The Crimson Classic was the first 6k race for the Memphis women's squad in 2017.
After running a 5k personal-best at the Sept. 30 Greater Louisville Classic, sophomore Paige Sandwell posted a 6k personal-best 22:02.0 Friday. Her 22:02.0 time was over a minute better than her 23:06.9 at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships.
Fellow sophomore Gabrielle Byndas also logged a personal-best 6k time by over a minute than her previous-best. Byndas ran a 23:20.5 Friday, topping her 6k time of 24:27.5 at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championships.
Senior Megan Briley also ran a personal-best 6k time Friday. Her 22:17.2 time topped her previous-best of 22:23.7 by just over six seconds.
Senior Mary Betsy Minkler improved her 6k time at Memphis by just over five seconds in Friday's Crimson Classic (22:46.2). Her previous-best was 22:51.5 at last year's Crimson Classic.
Freshmen Lora Gonzalez and Jennifer Taylor ran in their first collegiate 6k race Friday.

Men's Team

The Tigers ran in a 29-team field that featured over 250 runners.
The Crimson Classic was the third 8k race for the Memphis men's squad in 2017.
Julian Sanchez-Pinto's 8k time of 25:10.9 was the second-best 8k time of his college career. He set his personal-best 8k time of 25:05.2 at the Sept. 30 Greater Louisville Classic.
Julian Sanchez-Pinto's 20^th-place finish was his third top-20 performance on 2017. He won the Blue Race title at the Greater Louisville Classic and was third at the Sept. 23 Austin Peay Festival.
Matthew Kamph's time of 25:13.0 set a personal-best by 28 seconds. His previous-best was 25:41.4 at the Sept. 30 Greater Louisville Classic.
In his career, Matthew Kamph has run in six 8k races, and each time out, he has logged a personal-best time, including Friday's Crimson Classic.
With his 21^st-place finish Friday, Matthew Kamph has posted top-25 performances in all five races in 2017. Last season, he had only one top-25 finish.
Brock Ballard logged the second-best 8k time of his career (26:08.2). He set his personal-best 8k time of 25:50.6 at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championships.

2017 Crimson Classic (top 5 finishes count in team score)

Women's Race (6k); Memphis Team Finish: 16^th (408 points)

Place	Name	Time
32	Arnica Zitting	21:31.3
64	Paige Sandwell	22:02.0
78	Megan Briley	22:17.2
100	Mary Betsy Minkler	22:46.2
134	Gabrielle Byndas	23:20.5
141	Jennifer Taylor	23:29.4
142	Lora Gonzalez	23:30.2

Men's Race (8k); Memphis Team Finish: 11^th (333 points)

Place	Name	Time
20	Julian Sanchez-Pinto	25:10.9
21	Matthew Kamph	25:13.0
67	Matthew Viveiros	25:57.5
75	Brock Ballard	26:08.2
150	Joshua Hamlet	28:20.9
170	Hunter Magno Hester	31:01.7

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Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Byndas

Joshua Hamlet

Matthew Kamph

Paige Sandwell

Jennifer Taylor

Matthew Viveiros

University of Memphis Athletics