COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Sam Taylor and Tiffany Palmer have
been named the Most Valuable Runners on the 2009 Tennessee Tech
cross country teams, and several other team awards were also
announced recently by Golden Eagle coach Tony Cox.
A junior from Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., Taylor paced the Golden Eagle
men’s team in six of seven meets during the 2009 season.
Palmer, a senior from Cleveland, Tenn., was Tech’s highest
finisher in every meet.
On the men’s team, in addition to Taylor’s honor,
Peter Woerner was named Most Dedicated, Ben Shassere Most Improved
and Chris Bishop captured the Rookie/Impact Award. Jarrad Read was
selected as team captain.
For the women’s team, Palmer was also named team captain in
addition to her MVP award, Traci Jones earned Most Dedicated,
Amanda Simmons the Most Improved, and Kathryn Forbes the Impact
Award.
Taylor was Tech’s frontrunner in six of seven meets, posting
a season-best 8K time of 26:49.94 in the TTU Invitational when he
placed sixth overall. He was among the Top 15 runners in every meet
during the regular season, then placed 16th at the OVC
Championships.
“Sam had a great season and got very close to making the
all-conference team,” said Cox. “He is very consistent
and smart in the way he races.”
Woerner, a senior from Knoxville, wrapped up his cross country
career with the Most Dedicated award. He was Tech’s top
finisher at the Evansville Invitational, and was second on the team
in three other events.
“Peter put in a lot of hard work last summer, which paid off
in the fall,” Cox said. “He ran a lot of miles this
year and was very strong all season long. Peter is a brilliantly
smart young man and knows what it takes to be the best. He set an
example to the rest of the team which will help raise the bar for
those who follow. He is very respected by his teammates for his
work ethic.”
The Most Improved went to Shassere, a junior from Oak Ridge, Tenn.
He finished fifth on the team in his first meet, then moved up to
fourth and third, before placing second on the squad in a
season-best time of 27:09.85 at Evansville.
“Ben continued to improve throughout the season,” Cox
said. “He was consistent and had solid performances in every
race. Ben is quickly becoming a team leader and continues to work
hard to get better every year.”
Bishop, a hard-running freshman from Morristown, Tenn., was the
team’s top rookie and won the Impact Award. He was second on
the team in his first collegiate meet, posting his season-best of
27:24.93 at the Sewanee Invitational.
“Chris burst on the scene this year with the fastest time on
the team in our early season time trial. He followed that up with
some great results in the meets,” Cox said. “He is a
hard worker and a high mileage guy. He learned a lot this year
about what it takes to run at the collegiate level, and he has a
bright future with this team.”
A senior from Knoxville, Jarrad Read was selected team captain. He
ran in all seven meets and continually improved his finish on the
squad in every meet.
“Jarrad has been our team leader all year. His maturity and
leadership has gained the respect of his teammates and
coach,” Cox said. “He is a hard worker and has an
excellent grasp of what we are trying to accomplish here as a team.
He is very supportive of the new guys on the team, and expects
everyone to work hard every day at practice. His leadership has
helped raise the bar for this cross country program.”
Palmer was not only the Most Valuable member of the women’s
team, she was also chosen team captain. She ran off a string of six
straight top finishes for the Golden Eagles, and was among the top
eight individual finishers three times. That includes a seventh
place showing at the OVC meet to earn first-team all-OVC honors.
Her career-best time was 19:27.14 at the Evansville
Invitational.
“Tiffany had a great season this year,” Cox said.
“She led the team in every meet and earned first-team
all-conference honors at the end of the season. She puts in a lot
of miles and continues to work hard to improve. She is finishing up
her college career as one of the best runners in school
history.”
Palmer’s selection as captain was a logical choice,
according to Cox.
“Tiffany was the team leader this year, both on and off the
course. She led by example with her training load, and encouraged
the other women on the team to work hard. Tiffany had a lot of
academic responsibilities this fall, but she continued to focus on
her training and it paid off at the conference meet,” Cox
said.
The Most Dedicated honor went to Jones, a sophomore from Aiken,
S.C., who posted runnerup finishes on the squad in all six meets.
Her best time of the year was 20:43.52 when she placed 12th overall
at the TTU Invitational
“Traci finished second on the team in every meet this year.
She works hard and is very dedicated to getting better every time
out. She is a great teammate and is very respected by the team and
coach,” Cox said.
Simmons, a senior from Woodstock, Ga., was given the Most Improved
honor to cap off her final season. She was consistently third on
the team, and posted a season-best time of 21:04.73 at the Sewanee
Invitational.
“Amanda worked hard last summer and it paid off in the
fall,” Cox said. “She continued to improve throughout
the season and was a great benefit to the team. She is a hard
worker and a pleasure to coach.”
Forbes, a freshman from Norris, Tenn., claimed the Impact Award in
her debut season. After a fifth-place finish on the squad in her
first collegiate meet, she moved up a notch to fourth in four of
the next five events. Her best effort placed her third on the squad
at Evansville with a career-best 22:01.78 showing.
“Kathryn had never run a cross country race until this
year,” Cox said. “She ran track in high school, but did
not run cross country in the fall. She learned a lot from training
and competing with the team this year, and she has a great future
ahead of her. Kathryn continued to improve every meet, and set
goals for herself to reach. She is a great young lady and a
pleasure to be around.”
The track & field team gets the 2010 indoor season underway on
Jan. 30 at the Tennessee State Invitational in Nashville.
June 30, 2010
Golden Eagle cross country, track teams add nine signees
January 11, 2010
Taylor, Palmer named Most Valuable on cross country teams
November 14, 2009
Taylor paces Golden Eagles in NCAA South Regional to wrap up season
October 31, 2009
Taylor leads Tech men to fifth at OVC Championships
October 28, 2009
Taylor leads Golden Eagle runners into OVC meet Saturday
September 30, 2009
TTU Invitational is Friday at Southern Hills Golf Course
September 28, 2009
Rifle in third after day one of Ole Miss Invitational
September 19, 2009
Tech men sixth, women 10th at Vanderbilt; Palmer and Taylor pace TTU
September 5, 2009
Palmer, Taylor pace cross country teams in Sewanee Invitational
September 2, 2009
Golden Eagle cross country teams get season started Saturday