By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
PEORIA, Ill. – With the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships just two weeks away, the University of Tennessee at Martin traveled north into the Land of Lincoln to compete in its final tune-up prior to the championship event by racing at the Bradley Pink Classic contested at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois.
Nearly the entire squad was able to compete between the collegiate white and red races in preparation for a championship push. The loaded fields featured 37 Division I schools competing for the meet title – including several regionally ranked programs.
The Skyhawk women began the premier racing events with the women’s 6k red race. Sophomore Erica Fisher paced the youthful group with a time of 22:39.4 in her first 6k race of the season. Newcomer Lilia Alvarez continued to impress in her debut season by placing second on the team by posting a time of 23:12.9 for a new personal-best.
Three consecutive freshmen rounded out the scoring five for the women’s team with Victoria Holliday crossing at 23:23.1 while Annie Amundsen wasn’t far behind at 23:42.8. Rounding out the group was Lydia Tankersley with a time of 24:01.9.
With an average time of 23:24.0, the Skyhawk women finished with 873 points and in 30th place as a team.
In the final of four races of the afternoon, the majority of the Skyhawk men competed in the men’s 8k red race. Just like in the first three meets of the season, senior Luke McNair led the pack once again for the Skyhawks with a time of 24:51.2 – narrowly missing out on a top-10 time in program history by less than four seconds – while finishing 34th.
Two other men ranked in the top-75 of the loaded field including nearly 250 athletes as the underclassman pair of George Payne and Will Cahill continue to excel. Payne has shown his offseason progression as another second-place scorer by finishing 66th with a time of 25:13.6. Trailing close behind was Cahill who has impressed as a freshman by finishing 75th at 25:16.6 courtesy of a new PR.
Rounding out the scoring-five for UT Martin was senior Will Oglesby who finished fourth on the team with a PR-time of 25:26.8 while fellow senior Alex Schell posted a mark of 25:36.2.
With an average of 25:16.9, UT Martin finished with 405 points and in 14th place overall.
UT Martin will use the next two weeks to prepare before competing for the OVC Championship crown at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 30. The men’s race will get underway at 9 a.m. with the women’s to be contested at 10 a.m.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information