MEMPHIS, Tenn. (9/3/16) - The Arkansas State men's cross country team finished ninth while the Red Wolves women finished 12th in the 14th annual Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic held at Mike Rose Soccer Complex Saturday night. 

"I was pleased with how well both our men's and women's teams worked within the small race packs throughout each of their races," said A-State cross country coach Kyle Chandler. "During this early part of the season we are learning about one another's strengths and how to use those to help the collective team run as well as possible. Both teams made some good strides in those areas."

Junior Zach VanGundy paced the men's squad finishing the four mile run in 20:36.69 while sophomore Josh Kruse was on his heels for a 39th place finish of 20:42.86. The Red Wolves placed ninth with an average time of 21:12.76. 

"We had seven men who had previously run on this course and six of them set a personal course record," added Chandler. "This is a sign that the men are progressing and getting better. Zach VanGundy ran the third best course time in program history and Josh Kruse ran the fifth-best, so that was exciting to see!"

Freshman Elizabeth Gillette led the women's squad with a time of 18:49.90 in the 5k run to finish 48th. Sophomore Rebecca Eldien (19:26.64) and freshman Sammy Brainard (19:28.09) finished second and third for the A-State women respectively, 72nd and 73rd overall. A-State combined for an average finish of 19:28.97. 

"One-half of the women who had previously competed at this meet ran a personal course record," said Chandler. "Sophomore Christin Dornback improved her time by over a minute, which is a huge performance improvement. While sophomore Rebecca Eldien and freshmen Sammy Brainard and Jessica Weiss had really strong races, freshman Elizabeth Gillette ran an outstanding first race in leading the team. Her performance is now the No. 9 course time in program history."

The cross country teams return to action in two weeks with runs at the Bradley Intercollegiate (Sept. 16) and the Rhodes Invitational (Sept. 17).