GRIMESLAND, N.C., OCT. 31, 2015 – USF's Michael Babinec, Catherine Blaney and Leandra Munson finished in the top 15 to earn all-conference honors Saturday at the American Athletic Conference Championship.

It had been 11 years since USF had an all-conference runner in cross country and Saturday, it had three. Blaney finished the 6K course in a time of 21:05.27 and finished in 12^th place. Munson finished less than a second behind Blaney in 13^th place with a time of 21:05.92.

Babinec led the USF men for the 14^th consecutive time and placed 13^th with an 8K time of 24:21.67. It was the second all-conference honor for the senior from Riverview who finished third in the 3K steeplechase at last season's American Outdoor Championships.

It was the first time in 11 years that a USF runner had earned all-conference honors. Christa Benton, Jessica Hellender and Bente General were named to the All-Conference USA team in 2004. A men's runner hadn't earned the honor since 2003 (Sean Burris, Adam Chumbley).

Other finishers for the Bulls on the women's side was Jessica Taylor in 19^th in a time of 21:27.85, Kaitlyn Camp in 51^st at 22:39.57 and Celeste Romero in 67^th at 23:16.45. The sixth finisher for USF was Brianna Rischar in 68^th place at 23:19.96 and the seventh finisher was Sarah Hartman in 70^th place at 23:29.85.

The USF women finished right where they did last season, in fifth place with 162 points. The Bulls finished behind conference champion Tulsa (46 points), SMU (68), UConn (73) and East Carolina (148).

Other scorers for the USF men were Alex Main in 36^th place in a time of 24:21.67, John Weaver in 41^st place at 25:34.63, Cash Tampa in 47^th at 25:50.86 and Anderson Charles in 57^th at 26:42.77. The sixth finisher for the Bulls was Tomas Gimenez Beron in 60^th place at 27:02.27 and Dillon Valette in 61^st place at 27:20.52.

The USF men finished one position better than last season with an eighth place finish (194 points). All teams finished behind conference champion Tulsa which placed four in the top five and finished with 22 points.

“I am very happy with our performance today,” said head coach Dena Reif. “We just need a little more depth on each team.”

USF will next compete at the NCAA South Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala. at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.

Dena Reif is in her fourth season as the head coach of USF cross country. The history of USF's women's program consists of five conference and two region championships as well as five NCAA qualifying teams. The USF men's program has produced seven conference championships and three NCAA qualifying teams.