With temperatures Friday afternoon soaring toward triple digits, the Chattanooga men’s and women’s cross country teams both took first at the UTC Twilight Meet at Camp Jordan.
Just before the races were set to begin, the blazing sun was covered by ever-darkening clouds and a slight breeze cooled the air slightly.
The women finished first in the Division I race with 29 points, just three ahead of Georgia State. Junior Makenzie Jones finished fourth overall and was the second DI runner to finish with a time of 13:58.58 in the 4-kilometer race.
Freshman Lesley Green, who led the Mocs at the UTK" meet two weeks ago, was the second UTC finisher with a time of 14:29.45
“I thought the women did really well for this time of year,” head coach Andy Meyer said. “Much improvement over the meet at Tennessee.”
Junior Sophia Neglia placed 13th overall with a time of 14:53.24 followed by Ashlynd Broling, coming off a redshirt season, at 15:00.98. Freshman Faith Brown was the final scoring runner for UTC placing 21st with a time of 15:1480.
Sophomore Jonathan Boyd led the men’s team to a top place finish. The Mocs swept the Top Five for 15 points. Alabama State was the next Division I team with 48 points followed by Tennessee State with 77 points.
Boyd finished 14th overall with a time of 22:19.90 on the 7-kilometer course. Jake Etheridge was the next runner across the line for the Mocs with a time of 22:33.11. Ryan Gebelein also made a return to the pitch after a year to recover from an injury to finish 22nd overall with a time of 22:37.11.
“I thought the guys ran really well,” Meyer said. “It helped having Ryan back. He helped the guys pace and they key off him.”
Senior Nathan Watson finished in a time of 22:45.11 and freshman Connor Duncan was the fifth scoring runner to place for the Mocs with a time of 23:02.33.
Lee University won the men’s and women’s non-division I grouping. The men had 19 points with its nearest competitor, West Georgia, scoring 79 points.
The Lee women scored 16 points with West Georgia taking second with 79 points.
Division I - Women
|
1
|
Chattanooga
|
29
|
|
2
|
Georgia State
|
32
|
|
3
|
Alabama State
|
79
|
|
4
|
Alabama A&M
|
104
|
|
5
|
Tennessee State
|
142
|
UTC Individual - Women
|
Overall
|
Div. 1
|
Name
|
Time
|
|
4
|
2
|
Makenzie Jones
|
13:58.68
|
|
9
|
4
|
Lesley Green
|
14:29.45
|
|
13
|
5
|
Sophia Neglia
|
14:53.24
|
|
17
|
8
|
Ashlynd Broling
|
15:00.98
|
|
21
|
10
|
Faith Brown
|
15:14.80
|
|
25
|
13
|
Hannah Caldwell
|
15:32.70
|
|
29
|
14
|
Mattie Parker
|
15:40.78
|
|
32
|
|
Abby Bateman
|
15:58.12
|
|
39
|
|
Jada Hale
|
16:16.04
|
|
43
|
|
Julia Henderson
|
16:23.38
|
|
51
|
|
Katie Coker
|
16:42.93
|
Division I – Men
|
1
|
Chattanooga
|
15
|
|
2
|
Alabama State
|
48
|
|
3
|
Tennessee State
|
77
|
UTC Individual – Men
|
Overall
|
Div. 1
|
Name
|
Time
|
|
14
|
1
|
Jonathan Boyd
|
22:19.90
|
|
20
|
2
|
Jake Etheridge
|
22:33.11
|
|
22
|
3
|
Ryan Gebelein
|
22:37.11
|
|
27
|
4
|
Nathan Watson
|
22:45.11
|
|
34
|
5
|
Connor Duncan
|
23:02.33
|
|
48
|
8
|
Ryan Phillips
|
23:55.54
|
|
60
|
11
|
Chandler Porter
|
24:37.65
|
|
80
|
|
Jackson Lillard
|
26:30.06
|