NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech cross country teams were part of a huge field of teams and runners Saturday at the Vanderbilt Commodore Classic, and each Golden Eagle squad placed 21st in a field of 24 Division I entries in the event held at Percy Warner Park.
The host team, Vanderbilt took first among 24 teams in the women's Gold 6K race, posting 42 total points. Ole Miss (84) was a distant second, followed in the Top 5 by Eastern Kentucky 108) Mississippi State (117) and Alabama (171). The field included eight teams from the Southeastern Conference and eight from the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Tech women finished in 21st place among the 24 teams in the race, finishing ahead of a couple of OVC foes, UT Martin and Tennessee State.
For the second meet in a row, senior Beth Miller was Tech's top finisher in the women's race. She covered the 6K route in 24:28.44 to place 136th overall. Junior Rebecca Cline was close behind, posting a time of 24:38.78 for a 141st place finish.
Third across the line for Tech was junior Meghan O'Donoghue, placing 157th in the time of 25:09.43. Tech's other counters were senior Kathryn Forbes, placing 180th in 26:12.02, and freshman Landry Loving in 182nd place with a time of 26:22.18.
Other Golden Eagle runners who didn't figure in the scoring were Peri Winborne (26:29.65), Amelia McCoy (26:45.52), Elizabeth Mitchell (27:48.49), Kara Webb (27:57.58) and Kendale Caldwell (31:40.86).
Likewise in the men's race, the Golden Eagles were 21st among 24 squads, edging three OVC foes, Murray State, UT Martin and Tennessee State. The OVC did produce the overall team champion as Eastern Kentucky took the title with 32 points, easily topping Miami (Ohio) with 83 in second place. The Top five included SEC foes Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi State.
Tech's top runner in the men's 8K event was junior Matthew Bishop, placing 103rd in the time of 26:52.48. He also led the team in the season opener last week in Huntsville. Sophomore Sterling Smith placed 113th in the time of 27:01.93.
Third for Tech was junior Adam McLeod, placing 141st in 27:36.42, while junior Kolbe Andrzejewski was 178th in 29:48.99, and sophomore Charlie Jordan place 187th in 30:56.09.
Also running for Tech Saturday were sophomore Matt Pennycuff (31:27.58) and senior Nathan Livesay (34:45.54).