The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s and women’s indoor track and field team trekked to Nashville Sunday morning for the Ed Temple Classic hosted by Tennessee State at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.
“Our primary focus today was to run well in the DMR,” UTC Head Coach Bill Gautier said. “We won, so I’m very happy about that. This was also a good meet to give the younger kids an opportunity to see what it was like to run indoors since some have never done that before.”
The Mocs’ Distance Medley Relay team, anchored by senior Mark Cole (McKenzie, Tenn.) took first in the event with a time of 10:34.66. Sophomore Trevor Janssen (Jordan Station, Ontario) led off with the 1200 meter run with sophomore Geoff Nelson (Brentwood, Tenn.) maintaining the pace in the 400 meter. Sophomore Marquis Cater (Memphis, Tenn.) legged out the 800 meter run with Cole running the mile and legging it out against the Sun Belt Champion for the win.
“Mark is a great team leader,” Gautier said. “He outkicked his guy and ran a 4:20 leg. He did a great job.”
The men’s team of sophomores Austin Ethridge (Signal Mountain, Tenn.), Tosin Ayutonde (Ooltewah, Tenn.), DeQuantez Sandifer (Nashville, Tenn.) and Zack Darby (Knoxville, Tenn.), placed fourth overall with a time of 11:00.48.
The women’s DMR teams placed second and third. Junior Rebecca Greenwall (Bogart, Ga.) led off the women’s second place team followed by senior Gabby Cader (Cleveland, Tenn.) in the 400m. Sophomore Kiaana Howard (Nashville, Tenn.) ran the 800m portion of the race with junior Keeley Stewart (Winchester, Tenn.) anchoring the team in the mile for an overall time of 12:52.45. The women’s third place DMR team finished with a time of 13:12.20 and was led off by junior Jessica Philpott (Manchester, Tenn.). Freshman Chandler Rogers (Loudon, Tenn.), Hannah Chamblin (Memphis, Tenn.) and Jessica York (Normandy, Tenn.) completed the team.
Freshmen Katie Ray (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Madalyn Garland (Evansville, Tenn.) placed sixth and seventh respectively in the women’s 3000 meter Run. Ray finished with a time of 11:1829 with Garland just behind with a time of 11:31.44. Sophomore Helenka Kis (Columbia, Tenn.) finished seventh in the women’s 800 meter run with a time of 2:32.15 and freshman Joanna Elmore (Clarksville, Tenn.) posted a time of 2:40.49.
Junior Ambria Reese (Memphis, Tenn.) and freshman Jasmine Snell competed in the 400 meter dash while sophomore Iman Isang (Atlanta, Ga.) ran both the men’s 200 meter and 55 meter Hurdles.
“This was a good time to get experience for the younger runners,” Gautier said. “We’ll get some veterans into the mix and be ready when it comes time for conference [championships].”
Next up for the Mocs is the Niswonger Invitational hosted by East Tennessee State at the MSHA Center on January 18.