CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Friday afternoon for the 21st Annual Crimson Classic at the Harry Pritchett Running Park - also the site of the 2009 NCAA South Region meet on Nov. 14.
Both teams are coming off second place finishes at their season-opening UTC PowerAde Invitational held Sept. 11 at the Moccasin Bend Race Course. Junior Emmanuel Kirwa, the 2008 Southern Conference Runner of the Year led the Mocs with a third place finish in the event followed by newcomer Kyle McLarty. Running unattached in the race was two-time all-conference performer Chris Berry who finished second overall. Josh Vasquez, the 2008 SoCon Freshman of the Year, was eighth for the Mocs and freshman Mark Cole was 13th.
In the women's race, junior Anneli Uys led the Lady Mocs with a third place finish. Freshmen Heather Stuive, Kathryn Stuart and Mary Cumbee all finished among the top 10 runners. Newcomer Amanda Sumner, running unattached was 11th.
The Lady Mocs were also a preseason pick at No. 12 in the region. The host Tide is ranked seventh in the preseason rankings while Tennessee at third, is the top-ranked region team in the race. Auburn (4th), Samford (9th), Belmont (14th) and Georgia Tech (15th), Alabama State and Troy will also be competing Friday.
The Mocs entered the preseason South Region rankings at No. 12. The meet will feature several region competitors including No. 10 ranked host Alabama who is picked to defend their back-to-back region titles. Auburn, the second-ranked team in the region, will be competing along with Tennessee (6th), East Tennessee State (7th), Belmont (11th), Alabama State, Georgia Tech, Samford and Troy.
The women's 5,000 meter race is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by the men's 8K at 6:30 p.m. Results will be available at GoMocs.com immediately following the race.
