MOCS 4X400 METER TEAM WINS AT LEE; 15 TOP 10 FINISHES
 
CLEVELAND, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga women's outdoor track and field team took first at the Lee Invitational Saturday and 15 Mocs had Top 10 finishes to start the season.
 
Michaela Dabney took second in the 5000 meter run and Sarah Unterholzner was second in the 400 meter hurdles. Jasper Wilson was second in the men's 5K with Erik Martinez placing third.
 
Unterholzner led off the 4x400 meter relay with Jessika Rennich and Lexi Foley on the second and third. Emmy Davis ran anchor and the Mocs finished clear of the field by 20 seconds with a time of 4:17.25.
 
Michaela Dabney was the Mocs top finisher in the 5000 meter run, placing second with a time of 19:28.16. She ran a steady race staying second or third throughout. Andrea Ellis placed fourth with a time of 19:40.95, keeping up with Dabney.
 
Allie Potter finished sixth overall with a time of 20:03.96. She was near the back third of the pack at the start and climbed her way up near the leaders. Camden Morris was eighth overall with a personal best time of 20:10.59. Emily Naylor finished 11^th in her first outdoor 5K with a time of 20:30.76.
 
Unterholzner took second in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.36 with Reagan Ruth fourth at 1:13.95. Ruth finished eighth overall in the 100 meter hurdles at 16.02.
 
Imani Bryant flirted with her PR in both of her races Saturday. She posted a time of 12.80 in the 100 meter and 26.78 in the 200 meter dash.
 
Faith Brown was fourth for Chattanooga in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:54.94, just a little over a second off her PR. Julianna McReynolds was eighth at 5:00.84 and freshman Leah Boyd clocked in at 5:05.51.
 
The Mocs 4x100 meter team of Rennich, Unterholzner, Ruth and Bryant placed fifth wit a time of 51.31.
 
In the men's races, Wilson placed second in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:59.39 and Martinez was a whisper behind at 15:59.91. In the 5K fast heat, Eric Mitchell was eighth with a time of 15:16.58.
 
Eammon O'Bryant ran a PR in the 1500 meter at 4:02.55.
 
Up next for the Mocs is the UAB Spring Invite in Birmingham, Ala., March 31-April 1.
 
 
Women

100 meter Dash	Imani Bryant	15	12.80
200 meter Dash	Imani Bryant	17	26.78
400 meter Dash	Jessie Rennich*	11	1:03.89
800m Run	Lexi Foley*	11	2:35.23
	Sydney Cansler	19	2:46.87
1500 meter Run	Faith Brown	4	4:54.95
	Julianna McReynolds*	8	5:00.84
	Leah Boyd*	10	5:05.51
5000 meter Run	Michaela Dabney*	2	19:28.16
	Andrea Ellis*	4	19:40.95
	Allie Potter	6	20:03.96
	Camden Morris^	8	20:10.59
	Emily Naylor	11	20:30.76
100 meter Hurdles	Reagan Ruth*	8	16.02
400 meter Hurdles	Sarah Unterholzner	2	1:07.36
	Regan Ruth*	4	1:13.95
4x100 meter relay	J. Rennich, S. Unterholzner, R. Ruth, I. Bryant	5	51.31
4x400 meter Relay	S. Unterholzner, J. Rnnich, L. Foley, E. Davis	1	4:17.25

 
Men

5000 meter Run	Jasper Wilson	2	15:59.39
	Erik Martinez*	3	15:59.91
	Lane Hollis*	17	16:58.89
1500 meter Run	Eammon O'Bryant^	11	4:02.55
5000 meter Run fast heat	Eric Mitchell	8	15:16.58

 
FROM HEAD COACH ANDY MEYER
On the Mocs performance in the season-opener
"We had several outstanding performances at our first outdoor meet of the season at Lee with over 30 teams present. The kids competed hard and raced smart resulting in a great team showing for this early in the season."
 
On individual performance
"Sarah [Unterholzner] had a very good meet finishing second overall in the 400 hurdles and running the lead leg on our 4 x 400 team which placed first overall. On the 4x400 really were Jessika [Rennich], Lexi [Foley], and Emmy [Davis] anchored. They ran pretty even splits and won fairly easily."
 
"Reagan [Ruth] in her first 100m hurdles race since high school, was impressive with a top team finish at eighth."
 
"In the 1500 we had 3 in the top 10 with Faith [Brown] fourth overall at a PR in the event. She stayed at the front of the race and finished strong.  Leah [Boyd] and Julianna [McReynolds] were eighth and ninth respectively.
 
In the first heat of the 5000, the ladies had another strong showing with four in the top 10.  They were pretty consistent with their splits, staying off the pace, and were able to accelerate at the end with Michaela [Dabney] finishing second in the heat, Andrea [Ellis] fourth, Allie [Potter] sixth, and Camden [Morris] eighth and also having a PR."
 
On the men's performances
"We also took a few of the guys with Eamonn [O'Bryant] winning his heat in the 1500.  He stayed in a great position for the first 800 and began to pressure the field with 700m to go.  He took the lead with about 450m to go.  He held the lead until 100m and was passed but with 45m to go he retook the lead and held out for the win. Four of the guys ran the 5000.  In the first heat, Jasper [Wilson] held on for second and Erik [Martinez] ran a very good race coming from off the pace and picking off dying runners to get third overall with a PR as well.  In the "fast heat" of the 5K, Eric [Mitchell] and Ryan [Phillips], running unattached, were in a field of 20-plus runners.  For the first mile, we were "tail-gunning", staying out of the wind, and then after about 2K, they both began to slowly accelerate and ran a very fast last mile with their best splits of the race catching many of the runners suffering from a very fast first mile and ended up finishing eighth and ninth overall.  Ryan ended up with a PR."
 
Final thoughts on performances at Raleigh Relays and Lee Invitational
"We had three straight days of PRs and great races by the kids here at Lee and at Raleigh.  We are very pleased with the kids' fitness and strength right now and many of the kids will be even better as the season progresses, setting us up for an exciting outdoor season."