By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
Chattanooga Invitational
Date: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m. CT (women – 6K) & 11:00 a.m. CT (men – 8K)
Location: Putnam County Sports Complex | Cookeville, Tenn.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time since 2010, the Tennessee Tech will play host to the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday morning, welcoming in the other nine teams in the league to Putnam County Sports Complex.
The OVC's annual championship event will kick off with the women's 6K - the first time in league history the race will compete at the distance as opposed to a 5K - at 10:00 a.m. CT in Cookeville. The men's 8K is slated to follow at approximately 11:00 a.m.
The purple and gold are riding great momentum into the OVC Championships, with both teams picking up victories at the Chattanooga Invitational two weeks ago. It marked the first win of the year for the men's squad and the second this season for the women.
Miceal McCaul led the effort with a medalist finish in the men's 8K race, clocking in at 24:42.8 for the 19th fastest time in program history. Dominic Smith was second to cross the finish line with a time of 24:53.7. Six other Golden Eagles posted PRs in the event, including Samuel Goodchild, Clayton Kirkus, Nick Beattie, Carter Bradford, Robert Dawson, and Austin McCowan.
Earning her second medalist honor of the season, Ruby Wyles literally ran away with the top spot for team scoring with a huge personal record in the 5K with a time of 17:22.5. It marked the fifth-fastest 5K in program history and bested her previous PR by more than 22 seconds.
Rahab Sawe followed with a fifth-place performance, clocking the 12th-best 5K in school history with a time of 17:44.0. Maddie Long was just on her heels at 17:44.7, turning in her own spectacular PR with the 13th-fastest 5K in the history of the program. In that close group as well, Helen Pacurariu-Nagy placed seventh overall after her own career-low time of 17:47.4, the 16th-best 5K performance by a Golden Eagle ever.
The Field
The Ohio Valley Conference Championship field consist of Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Little Rock, Morehead State, SIUE, Southeast Missouri, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, and UT Martin.
Photos by Thomas Corhern
