Payne, Poole Lead Mocs at Crimson Classic

Friday, October 13

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

10:00 a.m.

Chattanooga

Crimson Classic

Crimson Classic Results

10/13/2017 2:54:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Crimson Classic Results

The men placed 18th overall and the women were 21st.

By: Anne Wehunt

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior John Payne led the men's cross country team to an 18^th place finish and junior Emily Poole placed 24^th to pace the women at the Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Payne (Portland, Tenn.) covered the 8,000-meter course in a time of 26:02.3 placing 78^th in the race featuring 254 runners. Sophomore Nathan Watson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) was the next Chattanooga runner to cross the line and sophomore Ryan Gebelein (Ringgold, Ga.) was next, placing 95^th in a time of 26:15.7.

The men were 18^th out of 26 teams with 457 points. The Mocs finished ahead of Vanderbilt (496), Louisiana Tech (542) and Southern Conference foe Mercer who had 737 points.

Middle Tennessee and Alabama tied for first with 110 points followed by Georgia Tech (third), Auburn (fourth) and Belmont was fifth. Samford placed eighth with 193 points led by Arsene Giullorel.

Poole (Ringgold, Ga.) led the women to a 21^st place finish out of 30 teams. She was 24^th overall with a personal best time of 21:16.7 on the 6-kilometer course. Nicole Buehrle (Jefferson, Wis.) was the next UTC runner to finish with a time of 22:46.6 followed by Hailey Morris (Lenoir City, Tenn.) in a time of 23:14.4.

Georgia Tech took first with 74 points, placing four runners in the top 20. Auburn was next with 124 points, just edging out Mississippi State with 126 points. SoCon opponent Samford, led by Karisa Nelson (5^th) was the fourth place team and host Alabama was fifth. The Mocs finished ahead of Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern and Mercer.

The Mocs will return to action at the Southern Conference Tournament Saturday, October 28. The meet, hosted by Wofford, will be run at Milliken Park in Spartanburg, S.C.

HEAD COACH ANDY MEYER
"The guys competed hard. John [Payne] and Nathan [Watson] ran very well. There times were equal or better than Louisville which was a much easier course. Overall I'm pleased with our progress."

"Emily ran a very good race as did Bri [Brianna Nelson] and Haley [Morris]. We can get more race effort out of the girls and we will work on this for the next two weeks."

"The conference meet is up next and both squads will be ready, focused and determined."

NOTES
• Nine Mocs posted personal records in the meet
• Emily Poole has led the Mocs in all four races this fall
• John Payne has been the top UTC finisher in three of four races

MEN

Place	Runner	Time	Personal Record
78.	John Payne	26:02.3
92.	Nathan Watson	26:14.3
95.	Ryan Gebelein	26:15.7	PR
126.	Mark Britt	26:44.4
152.	Jake Etheridge	27:04.6
169.	Richard Guiry	27:28.0
214.	Josh Topham	29:09.4	PR

WOMEN

Place	Name	Time	Personal Record
24.	Emily Poole	21:16.7	PR
119.	Nicole Buehrle	22:46.6	PR
152.	Haley Morris	23:14.4	PR
154.	Hannah Caldwell	23:15.7	PR
160.	Brianna Nelson	23:18.8
161.	Sophia Neglia	23:19.2
206.	Kennedy Thomson	24:01.7
230.	Ashlynd Broling	24:45.6	PR
239.	Julia Henderson	25:04.2
243.	Abby Bateman	25:09.8	PR
275.	Katie Coker	28:38.8	PR