Ricardo Banks Archives

August 31, 2019

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Little Rock Director of Track & Field/Cross Country J.P. Behnke set out to bring in a strong recruiting class. That new talent was on display at the season-opening Memphis Twiglight Classic with underclassmen posting top three men’s finishes and two fo the top three women’s finishes.

In all, the Trojan men finished seventh with all five scorers posting top-50 marks while the women placed ninth.

Sophomore Carter Reynolds paced the men with an 18^th place finish, running the four-mile race in 21:07.45, while freshman Colby Swecker’s time of 21:24.22 placed him 25^th. Sophomore Ricardo Banks ran 21:36.02 to finish 35^th as three underclassmen led the Trojan men.

Junior Jarred O’Conner posted a time of 21:54.24 to finish 43^rd while senior Emilio Medina ran 22:07.88 to round out the scoring five for Little Rock and bringing an upperclassmen presence to the top five.

On the women’s side, junior Vianney Sanchez posted a 5k time of 19:48.14 to place 52^nd and lead the women before two freshmen made their mark. Rookie Ariana Garcia ran 19:57.55 to finish 58^th and she was closely followed by Jordan Edwards’ time of 19:57.79 for a 59^th place finish.

Senior Hunter Paul finished 72^nd with a time of 20:29.79 and freshman Amanda Gordon rounded out the scoring five with a mark of 21:29.79, placing 88^th.

Little Rock will head up the road to Conway for the UCA Cross Country Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 7.

August 31, 2019

By LITTLE ROCK SPORTS INFORMATION

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock will begin the 2019 cross country season under the lights when the Trojans head to the City Auto Memphis Twilight Classic. The women’s race will begin at 9:20 p.m. while the men’s race is expected to start at 10 p.m.

Three Things to Know

Someone Bring the Coffee
While most cross country races are in the mornings (and the teams usually train in the morning), this race will have a much different feel with such a late start. The women start at 9:20 p.m. and the men at 10 p.m. – nearly 12 hours later than a normal cross country race starts.
Coaching Debuts for Little Rock’s Team
Saturday’s meet will not only mark the start of the 2019 season for both the men’s and women’s programs but all will mark the debut of two new coaches on the Little Rock coaching staff. Meg Joiner, a former track athlete from Oakland University, is starting her first year working with the women’s distance runners at Little Rock while Alan Webb, Olympian and American record holder in the mile, is working with the men’s distance runners.
Experience Returns
Little Rock’s men’s team returns three runners that scored in last year’s Memphis Twilight Classic – Ricardo Banks, Emilio Medina and Carter Reynolds – for the Trojans. Banks was second on the team with a 22:13.80 time while Medina ran 22:45.55 and Reynolds clocked 22:49.99 to finish third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile on the women’s side, Hunter Pual (19:14.83) and Vianney Sanchez (19:41.34) were the second and third-placing runners for the Trojans, respectively. Both sides lost their top finisher from last year’s race.

For the latest information on Little Rock Cross Country, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on Facebook and Twitter.