CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Cross country All-American Teghan Henderson returned to the course and led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to a win at the Powerade Invitational Friday evening. The men took second behind Middle Tennessee.
Dark clouds loomed on the horizon throughout the race with a noticeable drop in temperature just before the start.
Henderson finished third overall with a time of 10:57.72 after sitting out last season with an injury. Middle Tennessee’s Josephine Kiptebeny finished first with a time of 10:47.48 followed by her teammate Gladys David.
Sophomores Emily Drouin, Maddison Melchionna and Hannah Chamblin finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively for the Mocs while senior Rebecca Greenwall completed the top 10.
Drouin was the second UTC runner to finish with a time of 11:22.93. Melchionna was right behind her with a time of 11:25.23 and Chamblin covered the 2-mile course in a time of 11:28.04. Greenwall crossed with a time of 11:42.59 and was followed to the finish by junior Jessica York (Normandy, Tenn.) at 11:43.53 and junior Anna Kate Chance (Columbia, Tenn.) with a time of 11:49.36.
The women edged MTSU 34-37 with Georgia State taking third with 87 points. Austin Peay was fourth (107) followed by Kennesaw State (112), Tennessee State (172), Jacksonville State (178) and Alabama A&M (220).
Junior Paul Stuart paced the men with a fifth place finish and was joined in the top 10 by freshman Richard Guiry Stuart, who redshirted last season, crossed the finish with a time of 15:32.28 topping his previous best time by more than five seconds. Guiry covered the 5K course in a time of 16:18.34, nearly 40 seconds faster than the 5K time he posted last week in the Belmont Opener.
Freshman Mark Britt was 13 overall and third for UTC with a time of 16:22.64, also posting a top time. Jack Strevall, a freshman from Nolensville, Tenn., outstretched his time from last week by four seconds placing 19th overall with a time of 16:52.93. Junior Austin Ethridge placed 20th with a PR time of 16:53.68 and senior Zach Darby rounded out the Mocs with a 23rd place finish with a time of 17:02.15.
Middle Tennessee took first with 20 points followed by the second place Mocs with 67 points. Austin Peay took third with 71 points followed by Kennesaw State (91), Jacksonville State (113) and Tennessee State (156).
The Mocs will have a few weeks off to prepare for their next meet on October 3 in Spartanburg, S.C. at the USC Upstate Invitational.