KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga men's and women's cross country teams opened the season at the Tennessee Cross Country Invitational Friday morning at the Cherokee Farms Course in Knoxville, Tenn. Sophomore Derek Mitchell and freshman Bella King led the Mocs in a field loaded with SEC opponents.
 
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Mitchell led the Mocs for the second straight year at the Tennessee Invite, running a personal best time of 21:05.0 over the four-mile Cherokee Farms Course in Knoxville, Tenn., Friday morning.
 
Sophomore Ian Etheridge was the second Chattanooga runner across the line with a PR time of 21:18.5. Sophomore Andrew Moore was next with a PR time of 21:39.7 and junior Cash Coggins topped his previous best time at 21:42.6.
 
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
King led the Mocs Friday morning in her collegiate debut, running a time of 18:39.13 in the women's 3-mile race. Sophomore Audrey Wade was the second Chattanooga runner to cross the line at 18:59.70. Senior Michaela Dabney ran a personal best time 19:21.28 and finished 23^rd overall.
 
WORDS FROM HEAD COACH STEVE PICUCCI
"Was a start to the season for us today with the men's team. They ran a little too conservatively, but we are looking forward to racing the full 8K distance in a couple of weeks in Huntsville, Ala."
 
"Overall the women worked well together and we had some strong performances too. Was great to see one of our freshmen Bella King leading the group today. We do need to do a better job sticking together when the race gets tough."
 
TEAM FINISHES
Host Tennessee won both the men's and women's races. Alabama with a preseason rank of 11, finished second with 42 points followed by Kentucky and Chattanooga. The Wildcats and Tide flipped in the women's finish with the ninth-ranked Tide second with 37 points and Kentucky third followed by the Mocs.
 
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Men's Results – 4 mile
19	Derek Mitchell	21:05.0	PR
21	Ian Etheridge	21:18.5	PR
22	Andrew Moore	21:39.7	PR
23	Cash Coggins	21:42.6	PR
24	Tristan Gould	22:02.8
25	Reid Gulstrom	22:06.3
26	Isaac Atwood	22:31.4

 

Women's Results – 3 mile
20	Bella King	18:39.13
22	Audrey Wade	18:59.70
23	Michaela Dabney	19:21.28	PR
25	Lola Baker	19:32.65
27	Scarlett Nash	19:40.87
28	Taylor Crawford	19:59.55
29	Anna Roberson	20:21.27
30	EV McGowan	20:32.33
31	Lauren Bayes	20:42.97
32	Maya McCloskey	21:46.53

 
TEAM RESULTS

Men's Team Results
Tennessee	20
11 Alabama	42
Kentucky	65
Chattanooga	99

 

Women's Team Results
Tennessee	25
Kentucky	37
9 Alabama	65
Chattanooga	112

  
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For the latest news and information on Chattanooga Mocs Cross Country and Track and Field, visit the official website of Mocs Athletics at GoMocs.com. Fans can also follow the Mocs on social media at /UTCTrackAndCrossCountry (Facebook), @GoMocsXCTF (Twitter), @gomocstrackxc (Instagram).