The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s and women’s cross country teams will host and compete in the 2016 Southern Conference Cross Country Championships this Saturday morning at Camp Jordan.
“It’s a great honor to host the Southern Conference,” Chattanooga head coach Andy Meyer said. “The weather is supposed to be good and people will get to see a quality race.
“It’s going to be a dog fight. Furman is the one everybody is shooting for, but they aren’t heads and [shoulders] above the rest,” Meyer said.
“We’ve got a great shot. Us, Samford and ETSU are fighting it out in that next level.”
Senior Paul Stuart (Brentwood, Tenn.), a 2015 All-Conference Second Team performer, will lead the Mocs over the 8-kilometer course in just their second race in the new location. He is joined by fellow seniors Austin Casassa (Nashville, Tenn.) and Trevor Janssen (Jordan Station, Ontario).
Junior transfer Brennan Huber (Manchester, Tenn.) has recorded the Mocs’ top 8K time this season with a 25:04.20 at the JSU Foothills Invitational at the beginning of the month. Look for newcomers Gavin Hasty (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Nathan Watson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) to make a push in the race along with 2015 all-freshman team member Richard Guiry (Nashville, Tenn.) and John Payne (Portland, Tenn.).
The women’s team is senior-led beginning with top performer Maddison Melchionna (Afton, Tenn.). The school-record holder in the indoor and outdoor track 800 meter, ranks 11th in the Southern Conference standings in the 5K with a time of 18:18.2. Fellow senior Hannah Chamblin (Memphis, Tenn.) earned all-conference second team honors last season and sits 14th in the SoCon standings.
Senior Jessica York (Normandy, Tenn.) is 15th in the league rankings from her performance in the JSU Foothills 5K race and senior Anna Kate Chance (Columbia, Tenn.), also an all-conference second team performer from last season, has provided strong leadership on the veteran laden team.
“They compete with each other as much as they do other teams,” Meyer said. “Maddison has been our No. 1 all year with Hannah right with her.”
Sophomores Haley Morris (Lenoir City, Tenn.) and Brianna Nelson (Jefferson, Wisc.) along freshmen Kennedy Thomson (Catharine’s, Ontario) and Julia Henderson (Brentwood, Tenn.) provide depth to a strong team.
“If we have a good day, who knows what’s possible.”
This is the 87th annual men’s championship and the 32nd for the women and the fourth time Chattanooga has hosted the league championships. UTC was host in 1986, 1994 and 2006.
The men won in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2004 and have had 11 individual champions, 11 Runners of the Year and five Freshman of the Year including current senior Trevor Janssen.
The women have claimed seven team titles and seven individual champions and Runners of the Year including All-Americans Shannon Wommack (2001-05) and Teghan Henderson (2010-13). Five rookies have earned Freshman of the Year honors for the women.
The men’s 8-kilometer race will kick things off at 10 a.m. followed by the women’s 5K. The race start and finish line will be near the amphitheater. Admission is free and results will be available at GoMocs.com and SoConSports.com.