Cross Country Posts 18 Personal-Bests Friday

Friday, October 18

Birmingham, Ala.

9 am CT

University of Memphis

UAB Blazer Classic (M: 8k/W: 6k)

Brooke MUssche, 2019 Women's Cross Country

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Oct 18, 2019 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

Tigers record top-10 team finishes in final races before league championships in two weeks.

MONTEVALLO, Ala. – University of Memphis' Payton Gleason and Brooke Mussche were the first Tigers to cross the finish line in their respective races and also set personal-bests to pace the cross country teams' effort at the 2019 UAB Blazer Classic. The University of Montevallo Cross Country Course was the site of Friday's races.

Gleason posted his third top-10 performance of 2019 with his ninth-place finish in the men's 8k race. The Memphis men's squad placed third, marking its fourth top-five team finish of the season.

Mussche became the fourth Tigers women's runner to cross the finish line first in the squad's five races of the 2019 regular season. The freshman placed 30^thoverall in the 6k race.

Up Next
Memphis is off from competition next weekend, but returns to action Nov. 1 when the Tigers host the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championships. The event, which is on a Friday morning, is set for a 10 a.m. (CT) start at Shelby Farms Park in east Memphis.

Tigers Tidbits

The Tigers women's team had the biggest jump among the top-10 in its race. Memphis was in ninth place after the first split and dropped to 10^that the second. The Tigers, though, rebounded to place eighth.
In the women's 6k, six of the seven schools that placed ahead of Memphis were regionally ranked. The Tigers finished ahead of Belmont, UAB, Kennesaw State, North Alabama, Troy and Florida Atlantic. North Alabama won its home invitational over Memphis Sept. 7.
The Memphis men's team ran its first race as a regionally-ranked team this season on Friday. The Tigers are No. 13 in the U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Region poll.
On the men's side, Memphis was in the top-three of the race at each of the three splits.
The Tigers placed third behind regionally-ranked Charlotte (No. 7 in Southeast) and Belmont (No. 8 in South).
The Memphis men placed ahead of Lipscomb (No. 5 in South), Mississippi State and North Alabama, which won its home invitational over the Tigers Sept. 7.
Ten of the 11 women's runners recorded personal-bests Friday. The estimated average personal-best improvement was 23 seconds.
Senior Gabrielle Byndas, running in her final regular-season race, shaved nine seconds off her 6k personal-best. She also improved her time by nearly two minutes – 1:51, to be exact – from her performance in the same race in 2018.
Sophomore Solstice Saliba sliced 48 seconds off her 6k personal-best and improved her time from the 2018 Blazer Classic by more than 2:30 (2:39).
Eight of the 12 men's runners posted 8k personal-bests. The estimated average personal-best improvement was more than 30 seconds.
Nicholas Weber (56 seconds) and Emmanuel Cullins (50 seconds) made the largest improvements in their personal-bests.
Christian Corsello shaved 17 seconds off his previous 8k best. He has improved his personal-best in each regular-season 8k race of his career.

Men's Results/Team Finish: 3^rd(99 points)

Finish	Runner	Time
9.	Payton Gleason	24:16.72
11.	Zachary Wyatt	24:30.31
14.	Tate Wyatt	24:34.68
29.	Christian Corsello	25:09.58
36.	Jake Hollinger	25:28.37
56.	Peter Kostarellis	25:59.01
59.	Clay Campbell	26:07.77
	Bradley Turner	26:13.08
	Max Rathburn	26:17.76
	Emmanuel Cullins	26:23.78
	Nicholas Weber	26:41.93
	Jason Doland	26:59.01

Women's Results/Team Finish: 8^th(215 points)

Finish	Runner	Time
30.	Brooke Mussche	21:41.02
37.	Gabrielle Byndas	21:44.58
40.	Paige Sandwell	21:45.39
41.	Chablis Shreffler	21:45.76
67.	Brooke Calvo	22:26.00
76.	Solstice Saliba	22:47.43
77.	Chloe Figgins	22:54.44
	Sonsoles Martin Rodriguez	23:21.89
	Hannah Anderson	23:44.87
	Emily Treptow	23:46.73
	Madi Ray	24:14.68
	Reagan Casey	24:39.54
	Erin Gilbert	24:58.54
	Olivia Tolkinen	25:28.33