Stephanie Place wins with course record time
SEWANEE, Tenn. -- Seniors Stephanie Place and Keri Light led a
balanced effort by the Tennessee Tech women's cross country team in
claiming third place among 16 teams at the Sewanee Invitational
Saturday morning. In the men's race, the Golden Eagles placed
seventh among the 16 teams.
Place was in a familiar position, crossing the finish line ahead of
all other 148 runners in the 5K race, capturing first place at
Sewanee for the second consecutive year. Her winning time of
17:55.05 was a full 15 seconds better than the second-place
finisher, and set a new course record.
Tech's third place showing was the team's highest at Sewanee. It
came on a foggy day in middle Tennessee, which set the stage for an
exciting finish for Place. Trailing by 50 yards with a mile
remaining, she disappeared into the fog shrouding the course. When
she emerged, she had a 100-yard lead and cruised to the win.
Light claimed 12th place overall in 19:33.20, while Tiffany Palmer
ended the day in 25th place with a time of 20:10.86. Ashley Evans
placed 37th in 20:35.54, and freshman Traci Jones placed 36th in
20:49.59. Amanda Simmons also ran for Tech, finishing in
21:41.16.
The strong across-the-board finish by Tony Cox' runners allowed
Tech to finish a strong third with 103 points, edging out Rhodes
(112) and Evasnville (117). Mississippi State won the race with 30
points, followed by Emory with 69.
In the men's race, Mississippi State took the team title with 27
points, followed by Emory (41), Centre (91), Evansville (124) and
Lee (151) in the top five. Tech had 207 points for its seventh
place showing.
Ben Shassere was Tech's top finisher, placing 31st i 27:41.25. Four
spots back in 35th place, Joseph DeLorenzo finished in 27:48.10,
while Sam Taylor was 38th in 27:50.57. Tech's top five finishers
also included Peter Woerner (28:20.85) and Jarrad Read
(28:51.25).
Tech's runners have next weekend off before returning to action
Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Vanderbilt Invitational.