UTC's Henderson Finishes Second In 5000 Meter Run

  • Sunday, March 2, 2014

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Teghan Henderson (Pickering, Ontario) was second when the Southern Conference officials stopped the 5000 meter run Sunday on the final day of the SoCon Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The only problem was, the official rang the bell one lap early and the race was not finished. Bent over and not knowing runners were being told to keep running, Henderson lost valuable time and one spot to end up third overall with a time of 16:53.70. Despite the confusion, UNCG’s Shaina Sumney, set a league record with her finish, just edging out the previous best set by College of Charleston’s Dena O’Brien in 2012 by 0.45 seconds.

It was Henderson’s second all-conference finish over the weekend. She took second in the 3000 meter on Saturday despite suffering a late-season injury that almost bumped her from the championships.

“She should have won last night,” UTC head coach Bill Gautier said. “She made a racing error and that cost her last night. Today she did what she was supposed to do and was in a position to win, but a different error cost her a chance today.”

Sophomore Rebecca Greenwall (Bogart, Ga.) scored for the Mocs in the mile placing eighth overall with a time of 5:12.70. Greenwall anchored the women’s DMR on Saturday.

Junior Keeley Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) ran in her first-ever SoCon Championships after missing out on the last two due to injury. After being ranked 20th in the 3000 meter prior to the championships, she finished eighth to score for UTC. In the 5000 meter Sunday, she was in a group that hit the ground after getting tangled, but she got up and finished the race despite the results showing otherwise.

“I’m very pleased with the women,” Gautier said. “They’re making progress and next year will be a huge difference in the conference.”

In the men’s races Saturday, senior Nathan Wanuch (Mississauga, Ontario) just missed out on all-conference honors with a fourth place finish in the men’s 5000 meter race with a time of 14:48.11.

“Nathan did not have a good day Saturday,” Gautier said of his senior. “But today he looked like a stallion and pulled it out in the 5000 meter. It was a great job after a disappointing 3000.”

Senior transfer Harry Smithers (Melbourne, Australia) and senior Mark Cole (McKenzie, Tenn.) finished just out of the scoring in the 5000 meter with Smithers, still adjusting to running indoors, finishing ninth with a time of 15:02.28. Cole has battled an injury that has spanned more than a year, and was right behind with a time of 15:07.40.

Sophomores Marquis Carter (Memphis, Tenn.) and Trevor Janssen (Jordan Station, Ontario) finished seventh and eighth respectively in the men’s 800 meter run. Carter placed scored for UTC with a time of 1:57.23 while Janssen sported a time of 2:01.13.

Sophomore Iman Isang (Chattanooga, Tenn.) was eighth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.69 while James Stovall (Chattanooga, Tenn.) placed seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 46-feet-02.

“We really missed Lucas [Cotter] out there today,” Gautier said. “He’s been injured all season and he had not been able to run at all.

“Overall, despite our limitations, I’m very happy with how we competed. We’ll take a week off and get ready for the outdoor season.”

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