Henderson Defends PowerAde Invitational Title
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga All-American Teghan Henderson outraced UTK’s Chelsea Blaase to the finish line to lead the women’s cross country team to six dual wins Friday night at the Moccasin Bend race course for the season-opening PowerAde Invitational. The men, led by senior John Gilpin won five of six duals.
Henderson and Blaase ran together, never more than a step from each other over the two-mile course along the Tennessee River. Down the final stretch, Henderson kicked it in and finished the race in a time of 10:30.08, with Blaase second at 10:31.35.
The Mocs defeated Austin Peay, Jacksonville State, Tennessee State and UT Martin by a 15-45 margin. Chattanooga beat Alabama State 19-40 while finishing ahead of the Lady Vols by a 23-34 margin. Chattanooga fell 29-27 to Georgia State.
Senior Rebecca Greenwall was the second Chattanooga runner across the line in a time of 11:28.20, with classmate Amanda Cotter following at 11:33.04. Sophomore Jessica York ran the event in a time of 1:37.55, with senior Keeley Stewart next for the Mocs at 11:39.32. The final Chattanooga runner across the line was sophomore Maddison Melchionna at 11:43.77.
The men defeated five of its six opponents in the 5K dual meet. Gilpin was the top Moc across the line in a time of 15:51.40, while Trevor Janssen was the second UTC to finish at 16:00.51. Freshman Austin Casassa had a strong start to his UTC career as the third Mocs in with a time of 16:11.97.
The Mocs Patrick O’Brien was next for Chattanooga at 16:36.97, while Matthew Marshal was the Mocs final scoring runner across the line in a time of 17:16.19. Junior Marquis Carter, running his first-ever collegiate cross country meet, finished the race in a time of 18:10.68 for Chattanooga.
Up next for the Mocs is the Vanderbilt Commodore Invitational in Nashville on Saturday, Sept. 13.
Mercer Competes at UGA Invitational
ATHENS, Ga. - Mercer's men's and women's cross country teams competed against Georgia and Georgia Tech in a tri-match format on Saturday morning in Georgia's annual UGA Invitational. The men's team ran an 8000m race, while the women's team competed in a 5000m race.
Junior Victor Kosgei led the Mercer men with a time of 27:20.29 to place sixth against Georgia, and 10th against Georgia Tech. Rounding out Mercer's top five were Davis Trexler (27:26.24), Austin Pfeifer (27:46.82), Jeff Law (28:35.15), and Mark Brannen (29:20.31).
On the women's side, several Mercer runners turned in noteworthy performances. Coming off Southern Conference Runner of the Week honors, junior Kami Orrender continued to lead Mercer with a time of 18:51.71, placing sixth against Georgia and seventh against Georgia Tech. Junior Jenna Gipperich ran a time of 19:32.52, placing 10th against Georgia, while finishing 12th against Georgia Tech. Rounding out Mercer's top five were Shannon Millikin (20:38.68), Courtney Czerniak (20:43.52), and Keightley Dudgeon (2:48.66).
Both teams will next be in action Sat. Sep 20 in Asheville, N.C., Competing in the Asheville Cross Country Carnival hosted by UNC Asheville.