Temple University Athletics
Saturday, January 23
Augusta, Kan.
12:00 PM
Temple University
at
JK Gold Classic
Men’s Cross Country Competes in First Race Since 2019
1.23.21 | Men's Cross Country
AUGUSTA, Kan. — The Temple men's cross country team finished third Saturday afternoon at the JK Gold Classic. This was the program's first race since November 2019. Senior Kristen Jensen paced the Owls, finishing fifth overall.
About the JK Gold Classic
> Temple had three of the four freshman runners to finish in the top 15.
> Cincinnati took the meet as the Bearcats registered 34 points to win the race.
> Host Wichita State edged out Temple by one point for second place with 58. Oklahoma City rounded out the group with 79.
> Zouhair Talbi of Oklahoma City was the JK Gold Classic individual champion with his time of 17:40.0, finishing five seconds ahead of the runner up and 2019 AAC Individual Champion Aaron Bienenfeld of Cincinnati.
Race Notes
> Kristian Jensen led the Owls with his fifth-place time of 18:17.2.
> Jeppe Risvig was the second in the Cherry and White to finish, clocking in at 18:34.8 and earning the eighth spot.
> Pittsburgh, Pa. native Christian Fitch finished 14th in the race with a time of 18:47.7, followed by fellow rookie Erik Kain at 18:54.6 for 15th overall.
> Ethan Koza back ended the top five for Temple with his 17th overall finish at 19:01.2.
From the Coach
> "It was great to have our men back competing today and a wonderful opportunity to preview the conference course," commented head coach James Snyder. "Coach Hunter and his staff at Wichita State have done a fantastic job having the course ready for racing. The additional 2K (8K course) that we'll be on on February 6th provides an advantage for our group as we always prepare for the true college distances. It was great to see this large freshman class mix it up with our returners and I'll look forward to our progression over the next few weeks for the championship race."
Up Next
> The men's cross country team will have two weeks off from racing before returning to Four Mile Creek Resort on Saturday, Feb. 6 for the American Athletic Conference Championships.
About the JK Gold Classic
> Temple had three of the four freshman runners to finish in the top 15.
> Cincinnati took the meet as the Bearcats registered 34 points to win the race.
> Host Wichita State edged out Temple by one point for second place with 58. Oklahoma City rounded out the group with 79.
> Zouhair Talbi of Oklahoma City was the JK Gold Classic individual champion with his time of 17:40.0, finishing five seconds ahead of the runner up and 2019 AAC Individual Champion Aaron Bienenfeld of Cincinnati.
Race Notes
> Kristian Jensen led the Owls with his fifth-place time of 18:17.2.
> Jeppe Risvig was the second in the Cherry and White to finish, clocking in at 18:34.8 and earning the eighth spot.
> Pittsburgh, Pa. native Christian Fitch finished 14th in the race with a time of 18:47.7, followed by fellow rookie Erik Kain at 18:54.6 for 15th overall.
> Ethan Koza back ended the top five for Temple with his 17th overall finish at 19:01.2.
From the Coach
> "It was great to have our men back competing today and a wonderful opportunity to preview the conference course," commented head coach James Snyder. "Coach Hunter and his staff at Wichita State have done a fantastic job having the course ready for racing. The additional 2K (8K course) that we'll be on on February 6th provides an advantage for our group as we always prepare for the true college distances. It was great to see this large freshman class mix it up with our returners and I'll look forward to our progression over the next few weeks for the championship race."
Up Next
> The men's cross country team will have two weeks off from racing before returning to Four Mile Creek Resort on Saturday, Feb. 6 for the American Athletic Conference Championships.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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