Oct. 1, 2011

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - - Complete men's team scores are here.

Complete men's individual times are here.

Complete women's team scores are here.

Complete women's individual scoring is here.

The University of Memphis men's and women's cross country teams swept the team titles in the Rhodes Invitational Saturday morning at Shelby Farms. The team title is the men's squad's first since winning the Plough Park Invitational on Sept. 1, 2001, and the women's win is that squad's first since the Tennessee dual meet on Sept. 17, 2005.

Sophomore James Maglasang defended his individual crown with another first place finish, crossing the line in 25:05. He was closely followed by teammate Dan Kuhman, who finished second in 25:13. The one-two finish highlighted a tight Tiger pack of runners, as all five scoring runners finished in the top 11, helping Memphis to a team score of 33. Julien Wolf finished 9th overall in 26:31, Fabian Fiege was 10th overall in 26:33 and Austin Carter rounded out the scoring runners in 11th at 26:36. Trent Scott (20th, 27:04) and Robert Skinner (27:27) rounded out the Memphis competitors in the meet.

"Both teams had a great day all around," coach Doug Clark said. "Both teams did a great job of packing together. Now what we need to work on is getting our six and seven runners closer to our five and four runners, so that, heaven forbid, come conference championships or at the Alabama meet, if our five or four has a bad day, then we have reinforcements right behind them. We're improving at it, we just need to keep our focus, continue to work hard and stay healthy."

Like the men, the women also had a tight group of scorers at the line. Memphis runners finished third and fourth, with the fifth scoring runner crossing the line in 13th. The women's team led all team scores with 34 points.

Louisa Lingley led Memphis with a time of 22:35, finishing third overall, while Alisha Fitch finished fourth in 22:39. Jenny Johnston (6th, 22:56), Jasmine Darden (23:02), and Nandia Taylor (23:28) rounded out the scoring five for the Tigers. Meagan Nichols (16th, 23:45) and Erica Owen (25th, 24:17) were the final two Memphis competitors in this morning's race.

Memphis has one more meet to run before the Conference USA Championships. The Tigers will travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to compete in the Crimson Cross Country Classic on Oct. 15th.