Chattanooga’s Lesley Boyd tallied her second Top 10 finish of the season Saturday morning, placing ninth overall in the women’s Gold Division at the Live In Lou Cross Country Classic at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. She led the women to a ninth place finish and the men took 19th in the Gold Division.
Boyd covered the 5-kilometer distance in a time of 17:01.3, a season-best placing ninth overall. She led the Mocs to a ninth place finish overall ahead of ETSU who placed 17th and Mercer at 22nd.
“Lesley was outstanding in leading us,” Mocs head coach Andy Meyer said.
All of our women continue to run faster. They were able to compete and beat out several very good teams. Our 1-5 split was much better than last meet.”
Maddie Wheatcroft was 0.6 seconds off her personal best set at the 2023 Southern Conference Championships at 17:52.6. Leah Boyd, also just shy of her PR, was the third Chattanooga runner to finish at 18:10.2. Brooke Tyll, Lexi Foley, Andrea Ellis, Amanda Ferrante and Audrey Wade all set PRs Saturday morning.
Tyll improved upon her time set earlier this season at the Southern Showcase at 18:23.6. Foley posted a time of 18:38.4, topping her best set earlier this season by nearly 15 seconds. Ellis improved upon her 2023 SoCon Championship time at 18:41.4 and Ferrante edged out her previous top time at 18:43.7.
The Mocs men’s team finished one spot ahead of Mercer (20th) and well ahead of ETSU who placed 28th.
“The guys started out the day impressively,” Meyer said. “We had five guys under 26 minutes for the first time in nine-plus years. Several kids killed it and ran PRs. We were able to run a little more aggressively and they responded well.”
Aaron Isbell covered the 8-kilometer course in a time of 25:00.4 and was the first Chattanooga runner across the line. Jack Martin was next for the Mocs with a PR time of 25:01.7, besting his personal best time set last year in the same race.
Riley Hanson set a PR with a time of 25:39.8, well faster than the time he set at the Southern Showcase as did freshman Derek Mitchell at 25:46.5. Eamonn O’Bryant was the final scoring runner across the line for Chattanooga with a time of 25:49.4.
Kaigen Mulkey posted a mark of 26:11.5 with Tristan Gould next at 26:19.6, a personal best for the sophomore. Freshman Andrew Moore also posted a PR with a time of 26:40.7, shaving more than 33 seconds off his previous best time.
“It is such a fast race and the guys hung back and then accelerated through the field,” Meyer said. “Aaron, Jack, Riley, Eamonn, Tristan, Derek all were faster than two weeks ago.”
The women’s ran a team in the Blue Division as well. Ellie von Herrmann was Chattanooga’s top finisher despite recovering from illness. She finished in a time personal best time of 19:42.0. Maya McCloskey was next at 19:54.3 with Anna Roberson on her heals at 19:54.8, a personal best for her.
“Our B team would have beaten several teams in the Gold race,” Meyer said.
The Mocs were 15th in the Blue Division. Aubrey Park also topped her previous top time at 20:02.8 in the 5K race as did Kennedy Reynolds with a time of 20:08.7 as the fifth scoring runner for the Mocs.
“We made great strides at this race today,” Meyer said. “Many if not most of the upperclassmen were faster this year than last which bodes well for later in the year. We will get back to practice and prepare for our home meet. As well as we did today, we still have room for better fitness and results.”
Up next for the Mocs is their home meet at Camp Jordan on Friday, October 18. The women’s race begins at 10:00 a.m. with the men’s race to follow.
Men’s Gold 8K
19
|
Chattanooga
|
514
|
|
70
|
Aaron Isbell
|
25:00.4
|
|
72
|
Jack Martin
|
25:01.7
|
PR
|
129
|
Riley Hanson
|
25:39.8
|
PR
|
142
|
Derek Mitchell
|
25:46.4
|
PR
|
147
|
Eamonn O’Bryant
|
25:49.4
|
|
178
|
Kaigen Mulkey
|
26:11.5
|
|
191
|
Tristan Gould
|
26:19.6
|
PR
|
201
|
Ian Etheridge
|
26:26.6
|
|
217
|
Andrew Moore
|
26:40.7
|
PR
|
264
|
Cash Coggins
|
28:28.4
|
|
Women’s Gold 5K
9
|
Chattanooga
|
312
|
|
9
|
Lesley Boyd
|
17:01.3
|
|
46
|
Maddie Wheatcroft
|
17:52.6
|
|
69
|
Leah Boyd
|
18:10.2
|
|
94
|
Brooke Tyll
|
18:23.6
|
PR
|
116
|
Lexie Foley
|
18:38.4
|
PR
|
122
|
Andrea Ellis
|
18:41.4
|
PR
|
128
|
Amanda Ferrante
|
18:43.7
|
PR
|
174
|
Audrey Wade
|
19:11.7
|
PR
|
227
|
EV McGowan
|
19:54.7
|
|
242
|
Emma Thweatt
|
20:11.0
|
|
Women’s Blue 5K
15
|
Chattanooga
|
398
|
|
67
|
Ellie von Herrmann
|
19:42.0
|
PR
|
85
|
Maya McCloskey
|
19:54.3
|
|
86
|
Anna Roberson
|
19:54.8
|
PR
|
93
|
Aubrey Park
|
20:02.8
|
PR
|
98
|
Kennedy Reynolds
|
20:08.7
|
PR
|
110
|
Taylor Crawford
|
20:18.7
|
|
123
|
Michaela Dabney
|
20:29.2
|
|