Saturday, September 16
Montevallo, Ala.
9:00 a.m.
Chattanooga
at
Falcon Classic
John Payne led the Mocs to a second place finish at the Montevallo Classic
Photo by: Frank Mattia
Mocs Teams Second at Montevallo
9/16/2017 3:00:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field
MONTEVALLO, Ala. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams each finished runner-up to Mississippi State Saturday morning at the Falcon Classic in Montevallo, Ala.
"Both teams competed very well today," Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. "This was our freshmen's first attempt at 6K and 8K. It was an eye-opener for our young teams.
"Both teams accelerated throughout the race and steadily gained places through the added distances; they got stronger on the hills later in the race while other teams faded."
Junior Emily Poole (Ringgold, Ga.) paced four Mocs in the Top 15 of the women's Division I race while the men placed four in the Top 10 led by junior John Payne (Portland, Tenn.). The women, with 57 points, finished behind Mississippi State (19) and ahead of Southern Conference foe Samford who had 73 points in the race for third. Alabama State was fourth with 100 points.
Poole covered the 6-kilometer course in a time of 22:53.09 behind a trio of Mississippi State runners. She was one spot and nearly four seconds ahead of Samford's Abby Zane. Mississippi State had the next three finishers followed by one from Samford and the No. 10 spot was filled by Alabama State's Arion Span.
Sophomore Kennedy Thomson (St. Catharine's, Ontario) finished just outside of the Top 10 with a time of 23:50.17. Sophomore Hannah Caldwell (Brentwood, Tenn.) was 13th with a time of 24:02.18 and freshman Sophia Neglia (Kingsport, Tenn.) was just behind her across the line at 24:14.34.
Sophomore Haley Morris was the fifth UTC runner across the line at 24:37.92. She was followed immediately by sophomore Julia Henderson (Brentwood, Tenn.) with a time of 24:41.22 and junior Brianna Nelson (Jefferson, Wis.) in a time of 24:45.52 for 19th in the Division I competition.
In the men's race, Payne was third in the DI 8K race with a time of 26:18.44. Right behind him across the line was freshman Ryan Geberlein (Ringgold, Ga.) at 26:38.96 in fourth. Sophomore Nathan Watson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) was the third UTC runner to finish, placing sixth with a time of 26:48.31 and freshman Jake Etheridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) was 10th at 27:04.72.
Senior Brennan Huber (Manchester, Tenn.) was the fifth UTC runner across the line in 11th place for the men with a time of 27:09.97. Junior Mark Britt (Lebanon, Tenn.) covered the course in a time of 27:30.94 and classmate Richard Guiry (Nashville, Tenn.) clocked in at 27:57.57.
"Individually, Emily and John ran very good races to pace us at the front," Meyer said. "Newcomers Ryan and Jake were impressive and Nathan and Brennan looked much better than at Memphis.
"For the women, Kennedy made a huge race improvement. Hannah had another solid result, freshman Sophia Neglia, like her male counterparts, was impressive. Haley ran a fabulous last 800 that put us in second."
Mississippi State placed all five scoring runners in the Top Eight for 23 points. The Mocs were not far behind the Bulldogs with 34 points. SoCon opponent Samford was third in the race with 82 points and one Top 10 finisher. Alabama State was fourth with 104 points.
"Both teams ran a very controlled and conservative first half of the race again," Meyer said. "We will begin to let them race a bit more aggressively now as we get into the heart of our schedule. Both teams, right now, are ahead of my expectations for this point of the season."
The Mocs will return to action in two weeks at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky., on September 30.
"Both teams competed very well today," Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. "This was our freshmen's first attempt at 6K and 8K. It was an eye-opener for our young teams.
"Both teams accelerated throughout the race and steadily gained places through the added distances; they got stronger on the hills later in the race while other teams faded."
Junior Emily Poole (Ringgold, Ga.) paced four Mocs in the Top 15 of the women's Division I race while the men placed four in the Top 10 led by junior John Payne (Portland, Tenn.). The women, with 57 points, finished behind Mississippi State (19) and ahead of Southern Conference foe Samford who had 73 points in the race for third. Alabama State was fourth with 100 points.
Poole covered the 6-kilometer course in a time of 22:53.09 behind a trio of Mississippi State runners. She was one spot and nearly four seconds ahead of Samford's Abby Zane. Mississippi State had the next three finishers followed by one from Samford and the No. 10 spot was filled by Alabama State's Arion Span.
Sophomore Kennedy Thomson (St. Catharine's, Ontario) finished just outside of the Top 10 with a time of 23:50.17. Sophomore Hannah Caldwell (Brentwood, Tenn.) was 13th with a time of 24:02.18 and freshman Sophia Neglia (Kingsport, Tenn.) was just behind her across the line at 24:14.34.
Sophomore Haley Morris was the fifth UTC runner across the line at 24:37.92. She was followed immediately by sophomore Julia Henderson (Brentwood, Tenn.) with a time of 24:41.22 and junior Brianna Nelson (Jefferson, Wis.) in a time of 24:45.52 for 19th in the Division I competition.
In the men's race, Payne was third in the DI 8K race with a time of 26:18.44. Right behind him across the line was freshman Ryan Geberlein (Ringgold, Ga.) at 26:38.96 in fourth. Sophomore Nathan Watson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) was the third UTC runner to finish, placing sixth with a time of 26:48.31 and freshman Jake Etheridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) was 10th at 27:04.72.
Senior Brennan Huber (Manchester, Tenn.) was the fifth UTC runner across the line in 11th place for the men with a time of 27:09.97. Junior Mark Britt (Lebanon, Tenn.) covered the course in a time of 27:30.94 and classmate Richard Guiry (Nashville, Tenn.) clocked in at 27:57.57.
"Individually, Emily and John ran very good races to pace us at the front," Meyer said. "Newcomers Ryan and Jake were impressive and Nathan and Brennan looked much better than at Memphis.
"For the women, Kennedy made a huge race improvement. Hannah had another solid result, freshman Sophia Neglia, like her male counterparts, was impressive. Haley ran a fabulous last 800 that put us in second."
Mississippi State placed all five scoring runners in the Top Eight for 23 points. The Mocs were not far behind the Bulldogs with 34 points. SoCon opponent Samford was third in the race with 82 points and one Top 10 finisher. Alabama State was fourth with 104 points.
"Both teams ran a very controlled and conservative first half of the race again," Meyer said. "We will begin to let them race a bit more aggressively now as we get into the heart of our schedule. Both teams, right now, are ahead of my expectations for this point of the season."
The Mocs will return to action in two weeks at the Greater Louisville Classic in Louisville, Ky., on September 30.
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