GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Despite key injuries to the lineups, the Chattanooga
men's and women's cross country teams finished among the top 10 at the
NCAA South Region meet with two all-region runners at the Mark Bostick
Golf Course Saturday morning in Gainesville, Fla. The University of
Florida served as hosts for the event.
The Lady Mocs ran to a ninth place finish out of 20 teams on the heels
of senior Kathleen Turchin who has battled injury for the past few
years. Turchin earned all-region honors and placed 17th overall and
completed the six-kilometer race in a time of 21:20.46.
"I'm proud of the effort she gave," UTC Head Coach Bill Gautier said.
"She didn't train with the rest of the team and had to train on the
grass because of her injuries. She did a great job."
Teammate Shelley Taylor was the second UTC finisher across the line at
48th with a time of 22:38.97 and junior Katie Williams, despite nagging
injuries, was 55th in the race featuring 144 runners from 20 teams in a
time of 22:55.91.
Freshman Tara Gietma was 65th overall and the fourth finisher for the
Lady Mocs with a time of 23:20.97 and Emily Wood rounded out the scoring
for UTC at 73rd and finished the race in a time of 23:31.91. Jordyn
Radke had a disappointing race after just missing all-conference honors
with an 11th place finish at the Southern Conference championships two
weeks earlier. She ran the course in a time of 24:34.21 and placed 96th
overall. Also on the injury roster for the Lady Mocs was senior Nettie
Halcomb who was unable to compete Saturday.
Florida State claimed top honors for the women with 40 points placing
all five runner in the top 18 including the champion Susan Kuijken and
runner up Barbara Parker. Georgia was second with 75 points and Florida
was third with 94 points. Samford's Lauren Blankenship was third
followed by the Seminoles' Hannah England.
In the men's race, Michael Mentz ran to an all-region honors placing
22nd overall in a time of 31:35.46 and led the Mocs to a 10th place
finish out of 19 teams without two of their top three runners. Chris
Berry and David Moore who have assisted the Mocs throughout the season
to top finishes, suffered injuries after the Southern Conference
championships and were unable to compete Saturday.
"Michael had a great race," Gautier said. "Unfortunately, we had some
key injuries and weren't able to finish in a better position."
Tim Clark was Chattanooga's second runner to cross the line in 52nd
place with a time of 33:02.20 while freshman Stuart Chandler was 67th in
a time of 33:35.82. Blake Ketron and Jeff Taylor rounded out the Mocs
scoring as the fourth and fifth runners to finish the race for UTC.
Ketron was 74th overall with a time of 33:55.90 over the 10-kilometer
course and Taylor was two spots behind at 76th with a time of 34:08.64.
Alabama finished first with a score of 28 and place all five runners in
the top 13. Florida State was second with 52 points and Florida was
third with 82. Auburn's Felix Kibioywo was the overall winner finished
by the Tide's trio Emmanuel Bor, Augustus Maiyo and Andrew Kirwa.
The top 25 finishers in each race are named to the All-Region team. The
top two teams in each region earn automatic bids to the NCAA
Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., and remaining top thirteen teams
will earn at-large bids. The top four individuals on a non-qualifying
team from each region will earn at-large bids to the National
Championships. There are only two at-large selections of individuals.
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Men's Results - 10 kilometer
1 Alabama 28 - 2, 3, 4, 6, 13, 46, 58
Total Time: 2:32:29.60; Average: 30:29.92
2 Florida State 52 - 5, 8, 9, 14, 16, 69
Total Time: 2:34:38.69; Average: 30:55.74
3 Florida 82 - 7, 11, 15, 19, 30, 33, 35
Total Time: 2:36:13.94; Average: 31:14.79
4 Belmont 121 - 12, 18, 26, 28, 37, 89, 95
Total Time: 2:38:13.44; Average: 31:38.69
5 Mississippi St. 135 -21, 24, 25, 27, 38, 84, 90
Total Time: 2:39:05.47; Average: 31:49.10
6 Auburn 152- 1, 20, 40, 44, 47, 49, 78
Total Time: 2:39:04.23; Average: 31:48.85
7 Georgia 176 - 17, 31, 34, 39, 55, 64, 66
Total Time: 2:40:46.20; Average: 32:09.24
8 Tennessee 178 - 23, 32, 36, 42, 45, 63
Total Time: 2:40:51.47; Average: 32:10.30
9 Georgia Tech 230 - 10, 29, 51, 68, 72, 82, 91
Total Time: 2:43:18.97; Average: 32:39.80
10 Chattanooga 291 - 22 (Michael Mentz, 31:35.46); 52 (Tim Clark,
33:02.20); 67 (Stuart Chandler, 33:35.83); 74 (Blake Ketron, 33:55.90);
76 (Jeff Taylor, 34:08.64)
Total Time: 2:46:18.02; Average: 33:15.61
Women's Results - 6-kilometer
1 Florida State 40 - 1, 2, 4, 15, 18, 22, 23
Total Time: 1:44:24.08; Average: 20:52.82
2 Georgia 75 - 6, 7, 13, 19, 30, 32
Total Time: 1:46:31.86; Average: 21:18.38
3 Florida 94 - 10, 12, 21, 25, 26, 27, 29
Total Time: 1:47:32.31; Average: 21:30.47
4 Tennessee 152 - 11, 14, 16, 31, 80
Total Time: 1:49:33.81; Average: 21:54.77
5 Uab 184 9 39 40 43 53 87
Total Time: 1:51:04.58
Average: 22:12.92
6 Georgia State 210 8 34 36 58 74 78 108
Total Time: 1:52:02.48
Average: 22:24.50
7 Georgia Tech 237 - 20, 28, 38, 75, 76, 84, 98
Total Time: 1:53:17.96; Average: 22:39.60
8 Samford 249 - 3, 56, 59, 63, 68, 89
Total Time: 1:53:40.04; Average: 22:44.01
9 Chattanooga 258 - 17 (Kathleen Turchin, 21:20.46); 48 (Shelley Taylor,
22:38.97); 55 (Katie Williams, 22:55.91); 65 (Tara Gietma, 23:20.97); 73
(Emily Wood, 23:31.91); 96 (Jordyn Radke, 24:34.21)
Total Time: 1:53:48.22; Average: 22:45.65
10 Belmont 272 - 5, 37, 62, 64, 104
Total Time: 1:54:41.14; Average: 22:56.23