HUNTSVILLE, Ala. --- The Chattanooga Mocs cross country teams were led Friday morning by sophomores Emma Russum and Aaron Isbell at the John Hunt Park.
 
For the women, there were five freshmen running at the six-kilometer distance for the first time while two of the men had never covered the 10K course prior to today's race. Six runners posted personal records.
 
By the time the men's race was underway, a steady rain began.
 
THE WOMEN'S RACE
• Finished 26^th overall.
• Emma Russum led the Mocs, placing 103^rd overall with a PR time of 21:56.6.
• Faith Brown saved her best race for last. She ran a PR time of 22:47.2.
• This was the 6-kilometer first race for the Mocs' five freshman on the course.
• Maddie Wheatcroft was the first freshman across the line for Chattanooga.
 
THE MEN'S RACE
• The Mocs placed 20^th overall.
• Aaron Isbell led the men, placing 88^th overall with a PR time of 31:55.6.
• This was the final race for Jonathan Boyd and Ryan Phillips.
• Boyd edged out his previous best with a time of 32:42.8.
• This was the fist 10K for Jasper Wilson and freshman Caleb Jarrett.
• Sophomore Eamonn O'Bryant and Kaigen Mulkey each posted PR's in the race.

WHAT COACH SAID
"The women started the day off well for us.  Emma Russum ran well for us, being our leader all season.  The five freshman all competed well, as they have all season and our lone senior Faith ran a huge college PR.  The ladies were much better than last year as we did not even score as a team last year.  They followed the race plan Ty [Griffin] had for them and finished about as well as we could with such youth.  We are proud of the way they closed the season and what the future holds for next year."

"The guys also improved upon their placing from last year.  All the guys set and stayed with the race plan of staying conservative in the first mile and going after the race after the first mile.  Also, the guys got to run in a cold and windy rain that appeared during their warm-ups.  Aaron [Isbell] our No. 1 man all season PR'd at this distance by about 40 seconds and Jonathan [Boyd] finished his college career with a PR.  Ryan [Phillips] was just barely off his.  Eamonn [O'Bryant] and Kaigen [Mulkey] crushed their times from last year and Jasper [Wilson] and Caleb [Jarrett] ran solid times for their first attempts at the 10K distance. Like the women, the men have a solid core returning for next year."

"Both programs improved over last year and with some many kids returning, we will continue to improve over this year. I'm so glad Faith, Jonathan and Ryan could finish their cross country careers on such a positive note.  They have meant so much to us and we will miss them."
 
NCAA QUALIFIERS
• The Alabama women took first and earned an automatic qualification to the NCAA Championships. Florida State also earned an automatic bid finishing second.
• Florida's Parker Valby took first by a large margin with a time of 19:17.20 and earned an automatic bid as an individual not on a qualifying team. Lipscomb's Lydia Miller was the other automatic qualifier.
• Tennessee won the men's race and, along with Ole Miss, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
• Victor Kiprop won the men's race with a time of 29:21.2 and earned an automatic individual bid along with South Alabama's Kirami Yego.
 
RESULTS
Women 26^th

103	Emma Russum	21:56.6
115	Maddie Wheatcroft	22:04.6
159	Faith Brown	22:47.2
164	Leah Boyd	22:49.5
194	Andrea Ellis	23:31.2
218	Lexi Foley	24:42.7
219	Michaela Dabney	24:43.9

 
Men 20^th

88	Aaron Isbell	31:55.6
120	Jonathan Boyd	32:42.8
132	Ryan Phillips	33:09.9
146	Jasper Wilson	33:39.0
149	Eamonn O'Bryant	33:44.1
154	Kaigen Mulkey	33:58.3
156	Caleb Jarrett	34:00.6