Three Honored at SoCon Cross Country Championships

Saturday, November 2

Johnson City, Tenn.

10:00 a.m.

Chattanooga

Southern Conference Championships

11/2/2019 1:36:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Women's Results Men's Results Photos

Makenzie Jones earned all-conference honors for a second straight season.

By: Anne Wehunt

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams finished sixth Saturday morning at the Southern Conference Championships at the Pine Oaks Golf Course in Johnson City, Tenn.

Junior Makenzie Jones earned all-conference honors for the second straight year finishing 10^th overall. She covered the 5-kilometer course in a time of 18:44.8 and was named to the league's second team.

Lesley Green and Mattie Parker were among the SoCon's top newcomers and were both named to the conference's All-Freshman Team. Green finished with a time of 19:57.7 and Parker ran the distance in a time of 20:28.7.

Sophia Neglia was the second Chattanooga runner across the line at 19:44.9 with Hannah Caldwell right behind her at 19:48.5. Senior Ashlynd Broling rounded out the scoring five for the Mocs with a time of 20:12.0.

The men were picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll and managed to pick up two spots with a sixth place finish Saturday morning in the 8K race. Senior Ryan Gebelein returned to the lineup and was the first UTC runner to finish with a time of 26:48.9 in 21^st place.

Sophomore Jonathan Boyd placed 27^th overall and posted a time of 27:05.1 with Jake Etheridge following him with a time of 27:10.5. Freshman Conner Duncan placed 41^st overall with a time of 27:46.2. Senior Nathan Watson was the fifth scoring runner for Chattanooga in his final SoCon meet with a time of 28:46.1.

Furman swept the Championships winning their eighth consecutive league title for both the men and the women. Both were the preseason favorites to win the title and did not disappoint with the women scoring 20 points and the men 21.

Samford's Hannah Steelman repeated as the women's champion with a time of 17:02.1. She was followed by all five of Furman's scoring runners led by Gabrielle Jennings at 17:05.9 as the runner-up. The Paladins placed seven runners in the Top Nine and Samford had two. Chattanooga's Jones rounded out the Top 10 runners. Furman, UNCG, Samford and Western Carolina completed the all-conference performers.

Furman placed four runners in the men's Top Five led by champion Ryan Adams with a time of 24:40.8. ETSU's Ben Varghese was third and Samford's Dean Dillon was sixth. Furman had six all-conference performers, ETSU had three on the team, Samford and VMI had two each and UNCG had one.

Adams was the men's Runner of the Year and Steelman earned the honor for the women. Furman's David Ahlmeyer was named the men's Freshman of the Year and Samford's McKenzie Hogue was the women's Freshman of the Year.

Up next for Chattanooga is the NCAA South Region Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., hosted by Florida State, on November 15.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH ANDY MEYER
(technical difficulties prevented posting the video postmeet comments from Coach Meyer)

women's race
"We were in great position for first half of the race but were unable to finish the last half of race like we'd done couple last races. Makenzie [Jones], Sophia [Neglia] and Abby [Bateman] were able to accelerate the second half. Makenzie ran well for a top 10 finish. Sophia had her best race of the season. Lesley [Green] and Mattie Parker fought hard and held on all making conference teams (all-freshman)."

men's race
"The guys exceeded expectations. They ran well with Ryan Gebelein finishing his career on a high note. Jake [Etheridge], Jonathan [Boyd] ran well and competed hard. Conner [Duncan] ran a great race and just missed the all-freshman team. I feel bad for Nathan [Watson] as he did not have the senior race he'd hoped for, but he was such a great influence for us the last four years."

overall thoughts
"Overall the women did not have the day we'd hoped. We have a good core nucleus returning for both men and women teams. Today was great motivation for our athletes and coaching staff for the region meet in two weeks."

Women's Individual Results

10	Makenzie Jones	18:44.8	All-Conference 2^nd Team
35	Sophia Neglia	19:44.9
36	Hannah Caldwell	19:48.5
39	Lesley Green	19:57.7	All-Freshman Team
46	Ashlynd Broling	20:12.0
55	Abby Bateman	20:26.5
56	Mattie Parker	20:28.7	All-Freshman Team
61	Faith Brown	20:51.1- PR
62	Julia Henderson	20:55.9

Men's Individual Results

21	Ryan Gebelein	26:48.9
27	Jonathan Boyd	27:05.1
28	Jake Etheridge	27:10.5
41	Conner Duncan	27:46.2
58	Nathan Watson	28:46.1
66	Ryan Phillips	29:11.6
79	Chandler Porter	31:41.2

Women's Team Results

1	Furman	20
2	Samford	86
3	UNCG	91
4	ETSU	115
5	Wofford	139
6	Chattanooga	158
7	Western Carolina	184
8	VMI	221
9	Mercer	224
10	The Citadel	247

Men's Team Results

1	Furman	21
2	ETSU	56
3	Samford	92
4	VMI	106
5	UNCG	127
6	Chattanooga	166
7	Mercer	182
8	Western Carolina	224
9	Wofford	246
10	The Citadel	285

Men's First-Team All-SoCon
1. Ryan Adams, Furman
2. Daniel Bernal, Furman
3. Ben Varghese, ETSU
4. Cameron Ponder, Furman
5. David Ahlmeyer, Furman
6. Dillon Dean, Samford
7. Jahanzib Shahbaz, VMI

Women's First-Team All-SoCon
1. Hannah Steelman, Wofford
2. Gabrielle Jennings, Furman
3. Savannah Carnahan, Furman
4. Kristlin Gear, Furman
5. Emma Grace Hurley, Furman
6. Grace Dwyer, Furman
7. Mary Grace Strozier, Samford

Men's Second-Team All-SoCon
8. Adam Bradtmueller, ETSU
9. Ares Reading, Furman
10. Alex Roy, UNCG
11. Trent Mandato, Furman
12. Ben Garner, Samford
13. Gavin Jenkins, VMI
14. Noah Charles, ETSU

Women's Second-Team All-SoCon
8. Emily Lane, Furman
9. Emma Kuntz, Furman
10. Makenzie Jones, Chattanooga
11. Riley Burr, Furman
12. Kaitlyn Stone, UNCG
13. McKenzie Hogue, Samford
14. Lindsey Trotter, Western Carolina

Men's All-Freshman Team
David Ahlmeyer, Furman
Ares Reading, Furman
Jeb Jones, Samford
Noah Dolhare, Furman
Seth Bowdon, ETSU
Jonathan Krone, VMI
Dennison Kelly, VMI

Women's All-Freshman Team
McKenzie Hogue, Samford
Lauren Peterson, Furman
Katie Strozier, Samford
Lindsay Holliday, ETSU
Lesley Green, Chattanooga
Heidi Fortin, The Citadel
Mattie Parker, Chattanooga

Men's Freshman of the Year
David Ahlmeyer, Furman

Women's Freshman of the Year
McKenzie Hogue, Samford

Men's Runner of the Year
Ryan Adams, Furman

Women's Runner of the Year
Hannah Steelman, Wofford

Men's Pinnacle Award Recipient
Trent Mandato, Furman

Women's Pinnacle Award Recipient
Emma Kuntz, Furman

Men's Coach of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman

Women's Coaches of the Year
Robert Gary, Furman