Women Third, Men Fourth at Georgia Tech

Friday, October 2

Atlanta, Ga.

M: 8:30 a.m. | W: 9:20 a.m.

Chattanooga

Georgia Tech XC Invite

A female runner wearing blue and hair in a French braid is running on a cross country course with tall, brown grass in the background.

10/2/2026 5:47:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Results

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. – The Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams turned in strong performances Friday morning at the Georgia Tech Invitational, with both teams finishing fourth against a competitive regional field at Fox Hall Sporting Club.

"Another strong day on the course," Chattanooga head coach Steve Picucci said. "We're really proud of the way everyone competed and pushed through after a hard week of training."

The Mocs women's squad continued its impressive start to the season with a third-place finish among 16 teams, totaling 129 points and finishing just three points behind Emory for second place. The Chattanooga men placed fourth in the 13-team field with 103 points.

Freshman Leila Hailey paced the women's team once again, crossing the line fourth overall in the 6K race with a time of 21:23.5. Hailey's finish was the top collegiate result among non-Georgia Tech and North Florida runners and helped Chattanooga secure its highest team placement of the season.

"It was great to see Leila move up through the field and end up in the top five," Picucci said. "Great performance for her first 6K."

The women's scoring five featured a tightly packed group behind Hailey. Ashley Torr finished 35th in 22:47.0, Bella King placed 37th in 22:55.9, Scarlett Nash was 51st in 23:26.4 and Emma Thweatt rounded out the scoring runners in 55th with a time of 23:28.9.

Additional strong performances came from Olivia Steele (23:38.0), Ellie von Herrmann (23:38.2), Anna Roberson (23:47.3), Maya McCloskey (24:07.9), Taylor Crawford (24:11.3) and Kennedy Reynolds (24:11.9).

On the men's side, Jack Martin led the Mocs with a 14th-place finish in the 8K, clocking a season-best 24:29.7. Chattanooga placed five runners among the top 41 finishers to earn fourth place behind Georgia Tech, North Florida and Stetson.

Ian Etheridge followed in 20th place with a time of 24:43.5, while Derek Mitchell took 26th in 25:03.5. Riley Hanson crossed 28th in 25:11.9 and Andrew Moore completed the scoring group in 41st with a mark of 25:34.8.

The Mocs also received depth contributions from Tristan Gould (26:04.6) and Jayden Bowman (26:26.9) as Chattanooga continued building momentum heading into the heart of the championship season.

"Another solid effort for all the men and women as they gave it all out on the course today," Picucci said. "Looking forward to getting back to training as we get ready for the end of the season."

Chattanooga returns to action Oct. 16 at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., before preparing for the Southern Conference Championships later this month.

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