Sewanee, TN - The Lions finished third in an eleven-team field at the Sewanee Tiger Indoor Invitational held at the Fowler Center. Emory University and Mississippi College finished first and second in the event.
The men were lead by freshmen Daniel Goetz (Chattanooga, TN) and Josh Bradley (Ringgold, GA). Goetz started off the afternoon with a win in the men's mile and new facility record, with a run of 4:22.70 on the 160 meter unbanked track. Bradley closed well and finished second in 4:32.15. Freshmen Zach Buffington (Ooltewah, TN) scored for the Lions as well with a sixth place finish of 4:37.38. In the men's 800 meter Bradley reversed the order of finish to win in 1:59.61 to Goetz's second place 2:00.81. Competing unattched was newcomer Zach Mobley (Ooltewah, TN), who took third in 2:01.88. Transfer sophomore Andrew Dorn (Chattanooga, TN) was 11th in the men's mile and junior Guillermo Loaiza (Cartago, Costa Rica) was 12th in the men's 3000 meter race. The men came back later in the day to take second in the distance medley relay to up the team's total to 45 points.
Freshmen Bailey Payne (Pikeville, TN) finished 8th in the mile and 12th in the 800 meter run with times of 5:59.33 and 2:43.91.
"I'm very pleased with our men today. Goetz hit the provisional qualifier in the mile on a very tight track. He should go much faster on a nice 200 meter banked oval. Bradley and Buffington both got personal bests in the mile. Bradley came back afterwards to run almost identical to what he ran at ETSU a week ago on a 280 meter oval. He is gradually seeing some progression and should run fast soon enough. All the guys ran well and without much rest between events. Our season is just getting underway and with the way they are performing at this time adds to the excitement of what is to come. This was Miss Payne's first taste of indoor, or outdoor track for that matter, and she did a great job and continues to improve." said head coach Rodney Stoker.
The men take a weekend off before traveling to Blacksburg, VA, for the Virginia Tech Challenge on February 16 and 17.