By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 15 regionally ranked University of Tennessee at Martin men’s cross country squad posted an impressive runner-up finish at the loaded Live In Lou Cross Country Classic on Saturday morning while the women’s program finished in the top half.
The Skyhawk traveled to northern Kentucky to compete in the always loaded Live In Lou Classic with both squads racing in the Blue events. UT Martin’s men excelled in its race by competing as a solid unit and finishing second in a 45-team field amongst OVC competitors Tennessee Tech (fourth), Morehead State (24) and Southern Indiana (38).
Sophomore Will Cahill just missed out on another individual title by seven-tenths of a seconds while finishing as runner-up with an 8k time of 24:17.4 to shatter his previous personal-best time by 62 seconds. Junior George Payne also posted a top-30 finish with his time of 24:54.3 to also set a new PR.
Graduate runner Luke McNair finished 41st at 25:05.3 to rank as the team’s third scoring contributor. Junior Cole Davis was the fourth Skyhawk to cross the line at 25:16.7 with a strong PR of his own by 22 seconds while Luke Johnson wrapped up the scoring group with a time of 25:27.3.
On the women’s side, UT Martin finished 22nd overall out of a field of 47 squads. Lilia Alvarez led the team with a PR in the 5k, racing to a 18:48.7 finish. Sophomore Lydia Tankersley finished second for the Skyhawks at 19:43.2 in a new PR.
Rounding out the scoring group was sophomore Cierra Nord with a time of 19:33.8 as the team’s third contributor. Meanwhile, Maggie Roy joined the scoring group with a time of 19:38.3 for a new PR while Rita Eimer wrapped up the team’s top finishers at 19:43.2.
UT Martin will compete in its final meet prior to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship when traveling to the Blazer Classic on Friday, Oct. 14.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information