By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
MOBILE, Ala.—The Tennessee Tech men and women's cross country teams had another stellar showing Friday at the Azalea City Classic with both teams landing a first place finish.
"Both teams executed excellently today," head coach Wayne Angel remarked. "We are very pleased with the way both teams ran and with the way we've been training. We competed at a really high level and are so proud for Tech. This is the first time we have won two Division 1 titles on the same date and are excited for the way the program is going."
In dual meet action, the men defeated Alabama State 15-46, Southeastern Louisiana 15-46, Troy 16-39, and South Alabama (who was ranked 14th in the South Region of the United States) 19-37. The women defeated South Alabama (who was ranked 9th in the South Region) 23-33, Troy 16-41, and Alabama State (score unavailable), while Southeastern Louisiana had just one runner finish for their squad.
On the men's side, Gilbert Boit again stole the show completing the 8K with a time of 24:09.34 to finish first amongst the field of runners from South Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana, Alabama State, and Troy. Boit's time clocked in 29 seconds faster than any other participant, while also topping another Tech school record.
"Boit was dominant today," Angel continued. "He finished almost 30 seconds from next guy who ran unattached, so really he won by over 30+ seconds from the next Division 1 runner, which is ridiculous. He ran very easily and we are very happy with how he is performing and cannot wait to see how he does next week at the Commodore Classic when he will face some great competition and we can really see how good he is."
Also finishing for the men were Paul Patterson who came in fourth overall with a time of 25:18.80, Daniel Williamson who finished fifth overall with a time of 25:34.18, Sigei Bernard who finished sixth overall with a time of 25:45.87, Brannon Cheplak who placed eighth overall with a time of 25:58.72, Anthony Rono who clocked a time of 26:56.73 and came in 16th overall, Joshua Daughtry who placed 36th overall with a time of 29:35.51, and Anthony Palmer who finished 42nd overall with a time of 31:31.43.
On the women's side, Micayla Rennick was once again the top finisher for the Golden Eagles completing the 6K with a time of 22:06.17 to finish second overall.
"Micayla ran an outstanding race," Angel said. "She did so great today and so did the other ladies. We think they will do something special again next week at Vanderbilt."
Also running for the women were Sarah Brandt who finished fourth overall (22:44.86), Purity Murray who placed fifth (22:58.60), Jenna Storms who came in sixth (23:01.79), Anna Cooper who finished 14th overall (24:38.86), Madison Stremler who came in 23rd (25:44.51), Crystal Liebenberg who placed 29th (26:52.83), Andrea Retano who placed 30th (26:58.87), Molly Griffin who came in 34th (28:41.35), and D'Airrien Jackson who placed 35th overall (31:14.23).
The Golden Eagles return to action on Sept. 17 when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the Commodore Classic.
Photos by Thomas Corhern
