NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- With sophomore Geoffrey Sambu leading the way with a fifth place individual finish, the Tennessee Tech men's cross country team placed 11th among 15 Division I programs Saturday at the Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt University.

Sambu posted his Golden Eagle career-best 8K time of 24:41.63 to finish in fifth place among 250 runners in the field. Sophomore Brennan Huber was next for the Golden Eagles, placing 32nd in 25:40.72 to eclipse his own personal best by more than a minute. Senior Sterling Smith was next in 27:11.10. He was followed by sophomores Wesley King (27:33.52) and Sam Lariviere (28:05.29), and freshmen Ian Barclay (28:37.88) and Colin Gwaltney (28:51.52). It was the first time competing at the 8K distance by King and the two freshmen.

" I thought Sambu and Huber raced very well. Their times were very good for this early in the season," said Golden Eagle head coach Wayne Angel. "As a team, we still have to learn how to race with a strong pack. Not having (Daniel) Williamson and (Jordan) Roth hurt our performance as a team. We will continue to work on our small successes until we get it right."

Middle Tennessee won the team title with a score of 35 points, followed by Louisville with 53 points. Capping off the top five in the field of 15 teams were Ole Miss (127), Davidson (138) and OVC member Belmont (139). One other OVC member, Tennessee State, placed 15th with 485 points.

The next race for the Golden Eagles is the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 4.