By Layne Weitzel, TTU Sports Information
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tech appeared in its second-straight SEC program-hosted meet on Saturday morning, competing in Florida's Mountain Dew Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. It marked the team's first-ever appearance at the meet.
The Golden Eagles generated 398 points to finish in 17th, with freshman Purity Sanga leading the team in third place individually. Her time of 17:46.8 now stands as the fifth-fastest in Tech 5k history.
Micayla Rennick was next for Tech, placing 28th with a time of 18:50.1. Madison Stremler followed in 84th place at 19:52.4. Anna Cooper finished in 20:23.0 to place 118th, and D'Airrien Jackson rounded out the Tech squad in 231st with a time of 23:32.0.
"I am so proud of our women," said head coach Wayne Angel. "They continue to improve every time they compete. They were in the top 20 in a field consisting of 32 teams. I saw a lot of courage, heart and guts out there today – I guess you could call it Tech pride.
"Purity was phenomenal again. To be so young, she runs like a seasoned vet. I was also pleased with Micayla, Madison, Anna and D'Airrien. They raced exceptionally well on this course."
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
- Florida (88 points) – No. 8 in the South Region
- FIU (148 points)
- North Florida (156 points) – No. 14 in the South Region
- Florida State (168 points) – No. 4 in the South Region
- Jacksonville (189 points)
- UCF (228 points* -- won the tiebreaker with Tampa)
- Tampa (288 points)
- Embry-Riddle (237 points)
- Florida A&M (244 points)
- Florida Atlantic (264 points)
- Miami (FL) [273 points]
- Saint Leo (332 points)
- Florida Tech (354 points)
- USF (362 points* -- won the tiebreaker with Flagler)
- Flagler (362 points)
- Troy (394 points)
- TENNESSEE TECH (398 points)
- Stetson (414 points)
- St. Thomas (FL) [418 points]
- Florida Gulf Coast (488 points)
- Palm Beach Atlantic (630 points)
- Keiser (709 points)
- Mobile (743 points)
- Bethune-Cookman (752 points)
- Pasco-Hernando State (757 points)
- Ave Maria (761 points)
- South Florida State (850 points)
- Tallahassee CC (872 points)
- Florida State College at Jacksonville (889 points)
- Edward Waters (905 points)
- Florida College (910 points)
- Chipola (928 points)
UP NEXT
Tech has the remainder of the month off from competition and will spend time preparing for adidas® Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 14.