The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s and women’s cross country teams open the 2014 season Friday evening with the PowerAde Invitational at the Moccasin Bend Race Course.
The men placed third last year at the Southern Conference championships and are picked to finish second this season. The Mocs lost its two all-conference runners Lucas Cotter and Mark Cole to graduation, but will have seniors Harry Smithers (Melbourne, Australia) and John Gilpin (Nashville, Tenn.) to lead the pack.
The women, selected to finish second this season by the league coaches, return All-American junior Teghan Henderson (Pickering, Ontario).
Seniors Amanda Cotter (Bristol, Conn.) and Rebecca Greenwall (Bogart, Ga.) will bolster the lineup.
The event, a double-dual meet, will feature eight Division I teams and three non-Division I squads. In the DI race Chattanooga will be up against Alabama State, Austin Peay, Georgia State (women only), Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, UT Martin and Tennessee. The non-DI race will feature teams from Dalton State, Bryan College and Lee University (women only).
The women’s 2-mile race will start at 5:45 p.m. followed by the men’s 5K at 6:15 p.m. Results will be available at GoMocs.com. Admission is free.