University of Cincinnati senior and 2019 DI NCAA Great Lakes XC Regional champion Aaron Bienenfeld has elected to skip next Saturday’s NCAA XC Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, in favor of the German U23 Cross Country Trials, according to his school’s athletic website.

Bienenfeld ran wire-to-wire on Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, to claim the regional title in 29:59 over the 10k trek. The victory maintained his undefeated 2019 season and automatically secured him a berth at the national championships.

But instead, the German will return home for a chance to qualify for the most prestigious cross country race in Europe.

#Bearcats senior Bienenfeld has decided to forgo competing in next week's NCAA XC meet to compete in the German XC Trials and one last chance at making the U23 national team for the Euro Champs 12/8/19 in Portugal.https://t.co/bBcujNcbzM

— Cincinnati TF & XC (@GoBearcatsTFXC) November 16, 2019

A native of Frankfurt, Germany, Bienenfeld is hoping to qualify for the U23 European Cross Country Championships that will take place Dec. 8 in Lisbon, Portugal. The 22-year-old represented Germany at the 2018 U23 European Championships, where he finished 33rd.

Bienenfeld was able to race at both NCAAs and the German Championships last year as they took place on different weekends. He was 111th at the 2018 NCAA XC Championships.