The University of Memphis football team wasn’t the only squad kicking off their season on Saturday. Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams began their 2014 campaigns on Saturday at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
Both teams placed fourth in their respective races with 12 teams competing on the men’s side and 14 on the women’s side.
The men have placed fourth in each of the last three Twilight runs, and the women broke a string of consecutive seventh-place finishes with their fourth-place effort.
Surprising to no one, the men were led by senior Dan Kuhman’s third-place finish. Kuhman consistently put himself on top of the Tigers’ leaderboard last season, and that form has carried over into this season so far.
Junior Stephen Tankersley, freshman Corentin Louis, sophomore Jacob Ryan and senior Drew Austell rounded out the field for the men, finishing 26th, 27th, 31st and 32nd, respectively.
Head coach Kevin Robinson was pleased with the Tigers’ first race of the year, but he said they should continue to improve as the season progresses.
“Dan ran a great race and fought hard,” Robinson said. “Other guys ran well, but we just need to pack in tighter to the number one runner. Overall, it’s a good start. We will continue to improve as we get a few more races under our belts, and continue to improve our fitness levels.”
On the women’s side, the Tigers’ youth shined. Freshman Kristen Adams placed seventh to lead the way for the Blue and Gray. Freshman Chelsea Ladd wasn’t far behind, finishing 11th. Sophomore Martina Rodriguez finished 18th, and freshmen Megan Briley and Meghan Christensen finished 20th and 44th, respectively.
The youth on the women’s cross country squad excited Robinson. The future is bright for the Lady Tigers, and Robinson expects them to improve quickly.
“That’s freshman, freshman, sophomore, freshman, freshman,” Robinson said. “Anyway, it is a very good start for a very, very young team. This is a positive start to the season, and I am confident that we will continue to grow and improve rapidly.”
Both squads return to action on Sept. 13 in Nashville for the Commodore Classic. Last season, the men finished sixth out of 19 teams, and the Lady Tigers hope to improve upon last year’s 12th place finish out of 20 teams.
The Tigers only have three more meets to tune up before post-season running begins. After the Commodore Classic, Memphis runs in the Rhodes Invitational and the Pre-NCAA Championship. Then on Halloween, the Tigers begin the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship followed by the NCAA Regionals and Championship meets.
The men finished third in the conference meet last season, and the women finished seventh. Robinson and company hope both marks can be improved upon at the close of this year’s campaign.
