Sept. 3, 2011
Complete Results 
TUCSON - University of Arizona Wildcat men's and women's cross country competed at the George Kyte Classic, hosted by Northern Arizona, on Saturday. The Wildcat women finished first in the University/Open Division with 32 points while the men finished third with 87 points.
"This was a really good start to the season," assistant coach Erin Dawson said. "It's always important to start the season off on a good, positive note. Haley Stenquist led the whole way and actually ran more than half the race with only one shoe. That shows a lot of toughness. This is a tough course, not a soft grass course like we train on. Melanie McGrath shaved about 50 seconds off her time from last year. Her hard work and training over the summer is really paying off."
Freshman Haley Stenquist was the top collegian in the women's 5,000 meters with a runner-up finish and a clocking of 17:25.3. First among scoring competitors, she led a 2-3-7-12-13 finish for the Wildcats. Junior Melanie McGrath earned a bronze finish with a time of 17:35.0.
Sophomore Erin Menefee was Arizona's third top-10 finisher in seventh place. She ran a 5K time of 17:52.6. Freshman Nicci Corbin was 12th with a time of 18:18.7 and freshman Hanna Peterson rounded out the UA scoring five in 13th place (18:29.9).
Also competing for the UA women were junior Kat Howard (18th; 18:43.3), freshman Daylee Burr (20th; 18:51.8) and freshman Kate Penney (21st; 18:56.1).
On the men's side, freshman Kenji Bierig was Arizona's top finisher in 14th place. He clocked an 8,000-meter time of 27:23.1. Senior Abdi Hassan was 17th with his time of 28:08.9. Redshirt freshman transfer Sam Macaluso was 21st in 28:16.7. Sophomore Rory McLeod was 27th in 28:55.0 and freshman Dylan Souza rounded out the scoring five in 29th place (29:16.5).
"It's a big change from the high school 5K to college 8K but Kenji Bierig handled it well," Dawson said. "Our guys fared well in this race and it was a good opportunity to get out there and run an 8K. This is another great experience under their belts and they'll be better prepared for the next race.
Also making his Wildcat debut, freshman Thomas Valente was 34th in 29:38.6. The Wildcats will compete next on Fri., Sept. 16 with the hosting of the Dave Murray Invitational.
