Mocs Third at Tennessee Tri-Star Challenge

Friday, August 30

Knoxville, Tenn.

9:00 a.m.

Chattanooga

Tennessee Tri-Star Challenge

Men's Results Women's Results

8/30/2019 12:00:00 PM | Cross Country & Track & Field

Photo Gallery Men's Results

By: Anne Wehunt

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams each took third Friday morning at the Tennessee Tri-Star Cross Country Challenge at Cherokee Farms.

The men, led by sophomore Jonathan Boyd, finished third behind host Tennessee at Tennessee-Martin. Boyd covered the 6-kilometer course in a time of 22:09.32 followed by senior Nathan Watson with a time of 22:22.04 finishing 22nd.

Jake Etheridge returned to the course after sitting out last season and placed 24^th with a time of 22:26.84. Sophomore Ryan Phillips was the fourth Moc to cross the line covering the distance in a time of 23:44.46. Freshmen Chandler Porter (24:35.55) and Jackson Lillard (26:22.56) rounded out the lineup for Chattanooga.

Freshman Lesley Green came on strong for Chattanooga, leading the women in a third place finish behind the Lady Vols and Skyhawks. Green placed eighth overall with a time of 18:34.37. Veteran runners Hannah Caldwell (19:29.98), Ashlynd Broling (19:33.67) and Sophia Neglia (19:41.46) finished 14, 15, 16 for the Mocs.

Freshman Faith Brown was the fifth scoring runner for UTC with a time of 20:21.96 followed by Abby Bateman at 20:46.23.

The Mocs will return to action in two weeks at the UTC Twilight Meet on Friday, September 13 at Camp Jordan. The meet will start at 6:30 p.m.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH
We did as I expected for this being our first meet. The kids were coming off the highest volume of a three week build so the legs are a little tired. They gave great effort and showed a much improved mental focus which we are really keying on for this year.

This race was more of a scrimmage than a true race as we had a few of our better kids sitting this one out to focus on later in the year., thus it gave our younger kids and kids we had redshirted last year a chance to shine.

In the guys race, Jonathan Boyd, Nathan Watson and Jake Etheridge did very well. I was pleased with their races, especially Jake who was injured last year and was racing for the first time in a couple years. They took turns leading our pack and did a great job of accelerated throughout the race and improving placing. Ryan Phillips showed improvement over his freshman year and our two freshmen learned exactly how hard and difficult racing at this level truly is.

The ladies did very well considering the mileage put in early this week. Freshman Lesley Green ran an outstanding race for us and was the first true freshman in the race across the line. She showed a lot of maturity for her first college race.

Hannah Caldwell, Ashlynd Broling and Sophia Neglia were a little behind Lesley but that will improve. Hannah and Sophia were very smart and again accelerated through the race. Ashlynd, like Jake, was hurt last year so for her to run her first CC race in two years and be an immediate contributor is fantastic. Another freshman Faith Brown ran well and keep the other three in site and was our fifth girl. I was very impressed with her. Abby Bateman was another surprise as she continues improving with each CC season and for not running CC in high school to being in our top seven is amazing.

I told the kids I was certainly pleased with the efforts put forth and the willingness to race off tired legs. this will help them tremendously as the season progresses. We pleasantly also found out that we have some of the younger kids who maybe after today, we will be counting on!

RESULTS
Men's 6K

17	Jonathan Boyd	22:09.32	1916
22	Nathan Watson	22:22.04	1922
24	Jake Etheridge	22:26.84	1918
29	Ryan Phillips	23:44.46	1920
31	Chandler Porter	24:35.55	1921
24	Jackson Lillard	26:22.56	1919

Women's 5K

8	Lesley Green	18:34.37	2206
13	Hannah Caldwell	19:29.98	2204
14	Ashlynd Broling	19:33.67	2202
15	Sophia Neglia	19:41.46	2210
21	Faith Brown	20:21.96	2203
23	Abby Bateman	20:46.23	2201
25	Julia Henderson	20:56.71	2208
26	Mattie Parker	21:37.18	2211
27	Jada Hale	22:14.03	2207
28	Katie Coker	22:53.74	2205