BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore Maddison Melchionna (Afton, Tenn.) set a new school record in the 800 meter run, besting the previous record by more than two seconds.
Melchionna had flirted with the record her freshman year just missing it by 0.18 seconds. She shattered the record of 2:13.21 set by Anneli Morrison in 2010 with by more than two seconds at 2:11.06.
“It was pretty exciting,” Chattanooga head coach Bill Gautier said. “We’ve been preparing her for this. She ran the 400 [meter] the last two meets. We knew today would be good competition for her.”
A slew of runners were entered into the 800 meter run for the Mocs. Sophomore Hannah Chamblin (Memphis, Tenn.) finished 13th overall with a time of 2:18.85. Freshmen Haley Morris (Knoxville, Tenn.), Lilly McKee (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Madison Watson (Chattanooga, Tenn.) also ran in the race along with junior Madalyn Rogers (Loudon, Tenn.) and senior Helenka Kis (Columbia, Tenn.).
“Hannah Chamblin ran pretty close to what she ran last year when she was healthy,” Gautier said. “Haley Morris ran really well.”
In the women’s Mile Run, Jessica York (Normandy, Tenn.) placed 17th overall with a time of 5:12.46 and senior Keeley Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) was seventh in her heat with a time of 5:37.74.
“Keeley is just starting to run again,” Gautier said. “This was her first race this year. Jessie [York] ran a good race and will work on getting ready for the conference.”
Junior Teghan Henderson (Pickering, Ontario) finished third in the 3000 meter run with a time of 9:44.90. Junior cross country runner Paul Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.) finished fifth in the second heat with a time of 8:42.79 in the men’s 3000 meter run.
“We’ve run Teghan [Henderson] in some races that aren’t the distances she’s used to running,” Gautier said. “Now we’re ready to key on the races for these runners that they are going to run at the conference in a few weeks.”
The Mocs will travel to Sewanee next weekend for the Sewanee Indoor Invitational on Saturday.
Women
Mile Run
17. Jessica York 5:12.46
30. Keeley Stewaret 5:37.74
400m Dash
52. Makala Diggs 1:05.45
800m Dash
2. Maddison Melchionna 2:11.06
13. Hannah Chamblin 2:18.85
23. Haley Morris 2:25.39
28. Lily McKee 2:30.21
30. Chandler Rogers 2:31.39
31. Madison Watson 2:33.45
34. Helenka Kis 2:36.38
200m Dash
49. Mercedes Bright 28.48
3000m Run
3. Teghan Henderson 9:44.90
1600m
14. Chattanooga A 4:08.86
Men
3000m run
12. Paul Stuart 8:42.79