The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s cross country team swept the top three spots Friday afternoon at the 27th annual PowerAde Invitational to claim the title. The Mocs were edged out by Middle Tennessee by a six point margin.
Sophomore Amanda Sumner (Bristol, Conn.) led by a wide margin throughout the two-mile race and came in with a time of 11:38.02 followed by teammates Kathryn Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) with a time of 11:57.83 and Keeley Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) in third at 12:09.29.
Senior Mary Cumbee (Brentwood, Tenn.) was the fourth UTC runner across the line with a time of 13:05.41 while newcomer Helenka Kis (13:43.42) was the fifth scoring runner across the line for Chattanooga.
The Lady Mocs scored 49 points to finish first with Middle Tennessee second with 62 points followed by Austin Peay (68) and UT Martin (81) in fourth. Covenant College and Alabama A&M tied for fifth with 153 points each while Tennessee State was seventh with 195 points.
In the men’s race, senior Nathan Wanuch (Mississauga, Ontario) took up the torch for the Mocs and won the men’s 5-kilometer with a time of 15:31.72. Freshman Paul Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.), younger brother to current Lady Moc Kathryn and former runner Emmie, was the second UTC runner across the line placing fourth with a time of 16:02.65. Junior John Gilpin (Nashville, Tenn.) was seventh overall with a time of 16:32.98 and freshman Trevor Janssen (Jordan Station, Ontario) was ninth (16:38.88) followed by sophomore Patrick O’Brien (Chattanooga, Tenn.) in 11th with a time of 16:53.39.
Middle Tennessee placed all five scoring runners in the top 10 with Robinson Simatei second with a time of 15:48.58. The Blue Raiders claimed the title with a score of 26 points followed by the Mocs 32 points. UT Martin was third with 67 points while Austin Peay placed fourth (103). Covenant College was fifth with 148 points and Tennessee State was sixth with 150 points.
Up next for UTC is the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m.