Gleason Wins Blazer Classic Leading Men to Third-Place Finish

Saturday, October 16

Meadowbrook, Ala.

University of Memphis

Annual Blazer Classic

Payton Gleason, 2019 Men's Cross Country

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Gleason Wins Blazer Classic Leading Men to Third-Place Finish

Oct 17, 2021 | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

HOOVER, Ala. – University of Memphis men's cross country athlete Payton Gleason claimed the top spot at the UAB Blazer Classic Saturday.

Gleason finished with a time of 24:23.43, making this his first collegiate cross country win and Memphis' second individual win this season. Zachary Wyatt took home the title at the Rhodes Invite earlier this season.

Wyatt followed Gleason closely, coming in third (24:34.49) to help bring the men to a third-place team finish. Tate Wyatt (25:19.56, 16^th) and Hudson Hurst (25:52.46, 35^th) rounded out the top-four runners for the men, bringing the team total to 118 points. The Tigers only trailed behind Belmont (57 points) and New Orleans (114 points), who are both ranked in the top-10 of their respective regions.

For the women's side, Chloe Figgins finished first for the Memphis harriers, placing sixth in a field of 150 athletes. She crossed the line at 21:43.10, bettering her previous 6k personal best by over a minute.

Junior Solstice Saliba was next to finish with another PR of 22:31.50. Other personal bests include Hannah Anderson (23:07.97, 43^rd), Lauren Metzger (23:22.29, 54^th), Lydia Kurfman (23:31.33, 63^rd) and Reagan Casey (24:25.97, 95^th). These times brought the team to a sixth-place overall finish (151 points).

"Both teams raced solidly and got something out of the meet," Assistant Cross Country Coach Ken Frenette said. "Our focus at this point it to keep it between the white lines. We need to continue to work on closing the gap between our third to seventh runners on the men's side and then our second to seventh on the women's."

Next up, the Tigers travel to Lakeland, Fla., the last weekend of October for the American Athletic Conference Championship, hosted by USF.

Complete Results

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