UTC's Teghan Henderson at NCAA Cross Country meet - on the way to All-American honors
photo by UTC Sports Information
Teghan Henderson running to the SoCon 10,000 meter title
photo by UTC Sports Information
Teghan Henderson holds SoCon runner of the year award
photo by UTC Sports Information
The Henderson family from Pickering, Ontario has two
All-American medals and UTC runner Teghan Henderson has a goal of adding number
three this summer.
The 5-5, 18-year-old redshirt freshman’s goal of that
third A-A medal for the family trophy case begins Saturday as she competes in
the 5,000 meters (8:45 p.m.) at the NCAA East Region Outdoor Track and Field Championships in
Jacksonville, Fla.
The top 12 finishers (top five in each of two heats
and the next two fastest times) advance to the NCAA D-I Track and Field
Championships, June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.
Her father, Randy Henderson, earned the family’s
first national medal as he placed eighth at the NAIA national wrestling
tournament in 1985 for Simon Fraser Univ. (Burnaby, B.C.). He was also a seven-time
city champion from grade school through high school and won the junior Canadian
title in 1982.
His daughter carries an impressive
resume to the starting line Saturday night as she won both the Southern Conference
10,000 (SoCon record) and 5,000 meter championships in April and also was an
NCAA All-American in cross country this past fall.
Her championship efforts earned her
SoCon Cross Country Runner of the Year and SoCon Freshman of the Year for
Outdoor Track.
With both events at the East Region held
only 48 hours apart, Henderson decided on the 5,000 earlier this week.
“Teghan is as ready as she can be,” said
UTC track and field coach Bill Gautier. “She has been training strong, she is
tough and I know she will give it her best.”
Not only has she given her best at
running, but also in the classroom as she carries a 3.87 grade point average in
accounting with a 4.0 last spring
While she has successfully navigated her
way to a high GPA and to championships in cross country and track (indoor and outdoor), she needed a
map and maybe a GPS while in high school to locate Chattanooga.
“I received a letter from coach Gautier
and my first thought was ‘where the heck is Chattanooga,’” said Henderson whose
2011 area cross country championship for Dunbarton High School drew the attention
of college coaches.
“At first I thought Chattanooga was in northern
Canada, but I quickly found out UTC was in Tennessee,” she said with a laugh.
“On
my visit to Chattanooga, I really bonded with the runners on the team and thoroughly
enjoyed the city which is a perfect size for me.”
Coach Gautier hopes that her recent
running success is a catalyst for a top 12 finish. Then he will
gladly loan her a GPS and a map for the trip to the NCAAs in Eugene in two
weeks.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net