CHATTANOOGA WOMEN SECOND, MEN EIGHTH AT SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's cross country team finished Runner-Up Saturday morning at the Southern Conference Cross Country Championships and placed two runners on the All-Conference team. The men, without their top performer, finished eighth in the championship race with one getting a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
WOMEN'S RACE RECAP
This is the first time since 2015 that the Mocs have finished second and the sixth time overall. Juniors
Emily Poole and
Makenzie Jones earned All-Conference Second Team honors. Poole finished 11
th and was named all-conference for the second straight year. Transfer Jones was 13
th overall for the Mocs.
"This is the first meet all season we had everyone healthy and ready," Chattanooga head coach
Andy Meyer said. "They ran like they were capable of running and performed well. What's scary about this group is that we can do better!
"Emily ran well to lead us. Mackenzie and Kennedy [Thomson] had great races."
Thomson placed 18
th for Chattanooga as the Mocs' third finisher with a time of 18:44.85.
Brianna Nelson was 21
st overall with a time of 19:02.27.
Hannah Caldwell was the Mocs' fifth scoring runner across the line in a time of 19:12.54, placing 27
th on the day.
Jones, Thomson and
Julia Henderson all posted season-best times for the Mocs.
"Bri has steadily improved all season and Hannah, Nicole [Buehrle] and Sophia [Neglia] ran well also," Meyer said. "I'm so proud of this group. We had four who ran their last conference meet and went out on a high note.
"Emily, Bri, Haley [Morris] and Rebekah [Wich] will definitely be missed. I wish Amanda [Cotter] and I could coach those girls forever. They truly represent what UTC stands for."
Furman claimed its sixth straight title with 25 points. The Paladins placed four on both All-Conference teams. Wofford's Hannah Steelman was more than 16 seconds ahead of Furman's Savannah Carnahan with a time of 17:05.17 and was named the SoCon Runner of the Year.
The Mocs had 84 points for second and two on the all-conference second team. Samford was third behind the Mocs with 103 points. The Bulldogs placed one runner on the first team. ETSU and Wofford tied for fourth with 126 points. Both teams had one runner on the first team while Western Carolina's top finisher led the second team.
MEN'S RACE RECAP
The men, missing two top runners, finished eighth overall.
Ryan Gebelein, the Mocs top finisher since his arrival last season, suffered a stress fracture and was not able to join the team on the pitch.
"The guys competed well," Meyer said. "They've been through a tough stretch the last few weeks. One of our top guys decided not to run and we received the news about Ryan on Wednesday.
"The remaining guys didn't quit and this is the happiest I have ever been with an eighth place finish."
Junior
Nathan Watson led the Mocs, placing 23
rd overall in a time of 26:32.77 and senior
Mark Britt was 31
st with a time of 27:08.78.
"Nathan ran well as did Mark," Meyer said. "Right where we thought they'd be.
Jonathan Boyd did great to make the All-Freshman Team."
Boyd was the third Chattanooga runner and across the line and earned a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team. He placed 35
th overall with a time of 27:26.43.
The Furman men, with 23 points, won its sixth straight Southern Conference title. All five scoring runners finished in the top seven led by SoCon Runner of the Year Aaron Templeton with a time of 24:01.52 in the 8-kilometer race. The Paladins placed five on the first team and two on the second team.
ETSU was second with 57 points and Samford was third with 72 points. Each team placed one runner on the first team and two on the second. UNCG placed fourth (138) followed by VMI (169) in fifth. The Keydets placed one runner on the all-conference second team.
Furman head coach Robert Gary was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for both the men's and women's teams. Shila Kapaya of ETSU was named the women's Freshman of the Year and Furman's Cameron Ponder claimed the honor for the men.
Pinnacle Award recipients, given to the member of the championship team with the highest GPA, were Furman's Mason Coppi and Savannah Carnahan.
Men's Team Scores
| 1 |
Furman |
23 |
| 2 |
ETSU |
57 |
| 3 |
Samford |
72 |
| 4 |
UNCG |
138 |
| 5 |
VMI |
169 |
| 6 |
Western Carolina |
184 |
| 7 |
Mercer |
185 |
| 8 |
Chattanooga |
203 |
| 9 |
Wofford |
238 |
| 10 |
The Citadel |
262 |
Women's Team Scores
| 1 |
Furman |
25 |
| 2 |
Chattanooga |
84 |
| 3 |
Samford |
103 |
| T4 |
ETSU |
126 |
| T4 |
Wofford |
126 |
| 6 |
Western Carolina |
150 |
| 7 |
UNCG |
180 |
| 8 |
VMI |
190 |
| 9 |
Mercer |
250 |
| 10 |
The Citadel |
281 |
Men's First-Team All-SoCon
- Aaron Temple1ton, Furman
- Ben Varghese, ETSU
- Dillon Dean, Samford
- Mason Coppi, Furman
- Dillon Dean, Samford
- Cameron Ponder, Furman
- Daniel Bernal, Furman
Women's First-Team All-SoCon
- Hannah Steelman, Wofford
- Savannah Carnahan, Furman
- Emma Grace Hurley, Furman
- Gabrielle Jennings, Furman
- Lindsey Stallworth, ETSU
- Shian Mallory, Samford
- Riley Burr, Furman
Men's Second-Team All-SoCon
- Trent Mandato, Furman
- Jake Ogden, Furman
- Noah Charles, ETSU
- Davone Hernandez, VMI
- Ben Bryant, Samford
- Owen Bailey, Samford
- Matthew Scarr, ETSU
Women's Second-Team All-SoCon
- Kaitlyn Lingard, Western Carolina
- Kristlin Gear, Furman
- Emma Kuntz, Furman
- Emily Poole, Chattanooga
- Reilly Caldwell, Furman
- Makenzie Jones, Chattanooga
- Jennifer Stephenson, Furman
Men's All-Freshman Team
| 6 |
Cameron Ponder, Furman |
| 18 |
Brandon Hernandez, UNCG |
| 24 |
Gavin Cooper, ETSU |
| 32 |
Gavin Jenkins, VMI |
| 35 |
Jonathan Boyd, Chattanooga |
| 36 |
Robert Zell, Mercer |
| 27 |
Thomas Knepshield, UNCG |
Women's All-Freshman Team
| 10 |
Emma Kuntz, Furman |
| 12 |
Reilly Caldwell, Furman |
| 20 |
Shila Kapaya, ETSU |
| 25 |
Genevieve Schwarz, ETSU |
| 26 |
Mary Thorne, Samford |
| 33 |
Carter Marchbanks, Samford |
| 40 |
Hannah Corson, Mercer |
Men's Freshman of the Year
Cameron Ponder, Furman
Women's Freshman of the Year
Shila Kapaya, ETSU
Men's Runner of the Year
Aaron Templeton, Furman
Women's Runner of the Year
Hannah Steelman, Wofford
Men's Pinnacle Award Recipient
Mason Coppi, Furman
Women's Pinnacle Award Recipient
Savannah Carnahan, Furman
Men's Coach of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman
Women's Coaches of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman
