Mocs' Distance Runners Head to Alabama

Friday, April 6

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

All Day

Chattanooga

Crimson Tide Invitational

Photo by: GoMocs.com

4/5/2018 12:28:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Live Scoring Schedule of Events Entries

By: Anne Wehunt

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's outdoor track distance runners will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday night for the 2018 Crimson Tide Invitational presented by Beynon Sports.

"This meet will be one of the hardest meets we do all year," Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. "The competition is very, very good. Times are fast and all the races are demanding, not only physically, but also mentally. Some of the kids will be dealing with running at the back of the pack for the first time this year."

Emily Poole and Rebekah Wich will run the 10,000 meter for the Mocs. The pair ran the 10K earlier this season at the Emory Invitational. Poole finished second with a time of 37:00.54 that leads the Southern Conference standings. Wich's time of 38:39.24 ranks third among the league competitors.

The 5,000 meter will feature Mocs' runners Sophia Neglia, Brianna Nelson, Haley Morris and Hannah Caldwell. Neglia, with Chattanooga's second-best time in the 5K, is ranked ninth in the league standings behind Poole. She ran an 18:07.67 at the Emory Invitational earlier this season. Nelson ran the 5K at Emory in a PR time of 18:19.78, 10^th best in the league this season.

This will be the first try at this distance for Morris and Caldwell. Both have run the 1500 meter this season and Morris is the Mocs' Steeplechase competitor.

Men's cross country runners Mark Britt, Ryan Gebelein and John Payne will run unattached in the men's 5000 meter Friday night.

"It's a great meet to help us become mentally tough and more focused on hard racing," Meyer said. "It's a great meet to learn how to run your race, not someone else's; to remain calm and not give up when the pace is above your comfort level."

The women's 5K will run at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time Friday night followed by the men's 5K. The women's 10,000 meter run is slated to start at 10:50 p.m. EDT. A link for the live scoring will be available on the track and field schedule page. A recap of all the action and results will be available at GoMocs.com following the meet.