Cross Country Preview: The American Championships

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2019 American Athletic Conference Championships Live Results

Men's 8k Race	Women's 6k Race
1 mile	1 mile
2 mile	2 mile
Finish	Finish

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis rolls out the Blue and Gray carpet on Friday morning to host the 2019 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships. The races are scheduled to take place at Shelby Farms Park in east Memphis. Admission is free.

2019 American Athletic Conference Championships Schedule

Race	Time
Men's 8k	10 a.m. (CT)
Women's 6k	10:50 a.m. (CT)

The conference cross country championships don't come around often, as this is the first time Memphis has hosted The American Championships. The last time the Tigers hosted a conference race was in 2008. Before that, it was 1998.

It's also the first time since 1998 that Shelby Farms Park is the host site. The Mike Rose Soccer Complex was the host in 2008.

Competing Teams
Men (regional rank): Cincinnati, Connecticut (No. 11 Northeast), ECU, Houston (No. 7 South Central), Memphis (No. 10 South), Temple (No. 3 Mid-Atlantic), Tulane, Tulsa, USF, Wichita State (No. 11 Midwest)
Women (regional rank): Cincinnati, Connecticut (No. 13 Northeast), ECU, Houston (No. 5 South Central), Memphis, SMU (No. 15 South Central), Temple (No. 9 Mid-Atlantic), Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, USF, Wichita State (No. 6 Midwest)

Head coach Kevin Robinson comments
(On the season)
"We've been consistent, that's number one. We've also been relatively healthy which has been really nice. We've seen improvement from race-to-race. We've seen both groups develop. We've had multiple races where we've had 15-to-18 personal-bests. The consistent improvement is there, and I feel we're racing at a higher level than we did at this point last year."

(On hosting the AAC Championships)
"We're excited to host. Shelby Farms Park is a great course. It's a dedicated cross country course. We're running a challenging course, but it's not a debilitating one. You can run fast, recover and be ready to compete at regionals in two weeks, which is important for all of the conference teams.

"It's exciting to showcase the facility, showcase what we have to offer in terms of the course and the community. It's great to bring the conference to Memphis, and I hope we can provide a great experience for all the teams. Hopefully, we'll have good weather and that will allow us to have the course prepared."

(On what goes on in hosting this event)
"I will be there camping in my tent all week (laughing). There's a lot of work that goes into it. There's a lot of moving parts. Until the races are over, I won't be able to sleep."

(On getting the city of Memphis out to the races)
"We want to flood that place with as much Memphis blue as we can. We do have a strong running community here in Memphis. We want them to come out and get involved. There's also a rising group of young kids in the community running. I'm excited to see how many people we can put out there. It should be a lot of fun."

Tigers' Finishes in American Athletic Conference Championships

Year	Men	Women
2018	7^th	10^th
2017	8^th	8^th
2016	6^th	3^rd
2015	9^th	6^th
2014	5^th	7^th
2013	3^rd	7^th

Tigers Tidbits

In its history, the men's program has six top-three team finishes. Memphis won the Metro Conference title in 1976 and also had top-three performances in 1977 (3^rd), 1979 (3^rd), 1980 (3^rd), 1985 (3^rd) and 2013 (3^rd).
In 2016, the Tigers women's squad posted its best finish in program history, placing third. Before the 2016 race, the Tigers' top finishes were third-place performances in 1985 and 1986 (both Metro Conference).
Last year, Memphis and the rest of the conference competed in "monsoon-like" conditions in New Orleans, La.
Gabrielle Byndas and Paige Sandwell, who were two of the squad's top-three finishers a year ago, return for the Tigers and race Friday. Byndas was 60^thin last year's championships, followed by Sandwell in 61^st.
On the men's side, the Tigers return three runners that posted top-40 finishes at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships. They were Zachary Wyatt (35^th), Payton Gleason (36^th) and Tate Wyatt (39^th).

University of Memphis Athletics

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