By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech men's cross country team is now ranked 10th in the South Region per the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional Cross Country Rankings that was released on Sept. 19.
"We are honored and thankful to be recognized by our peers for our hard work and competitive efforts thus far," remarked head coach Wayne Angel. "We will continue to train smart and put ourselves in the best position possible when the OVC Championships come around."
After a solid performance in the season's most competitive meet to date, the Commodore Classic, the men's cross country team vaulted four spots to No. 10 in the USTFCCCA Division I South Region poll; the highest ranking ever by a Tech cross country team. Led by freshman sensation Gilbert Boit, the Golden Eagles finished in ninth place out of 23 teams. Boit placed fourth overall in a field that featured over 230 runners, completing the 8K course in 24:26.8.
Tech finished just an eyelash behind Tennessee and Auburn, as the young Golden Eagle squad topped two SEC programs (Mississippi State and Vanderbilt), and was the highest-finishing among the six OVC schools on the course.
Finishing behind Tech were Lipscomb, Davidson, Belmont, Marshall, Morehead State, Mississippi State, UT Martin, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, Murray State and Alabama State.
Boit's time is the second-fastest in school history, just off the record pace of 24:09.34 he recorded two weeks ago in Mobile, Ala. His time Saturday reflected his average of 4.55.1 per mile.
Freshman Sigei Bernard paced the remainder of the Tech lineup, finishing 46th in 25.50.9, with senior Daniel Williamson close behind in 74th place at 26:16.9. Ten spots back in 84th place, freshman Brannon Cheplack posted a time of 26:26.7, followed by Paul Patterson at 26:34.7 for 90th place. The final three Tech runners included Anthony Rono (27:34.4), Joshua Daugherty (career-best 28:22.1) and Anthony Palmer (31:48).
