By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin cross country squads put the finishing touches on its regular season slate with several personal records while competing at the UAB Blazer Classic on Friday morning. The Skyhawks finished in the top half of both races with the women running to a seventh-place finish while the men came in fifth.
The Skyhawks looked to a strong performance in the team’s final tune-up prior to the OVC Cross Country Championship in two weeks. The field was stout as the No. 13 ranked team in the South Region competed against three other regionally ranked programs including Lipscomb (No. 8), Memphis (No. 10) and North Alabama (No. 14). Meanwhile, the women’s squad squared off against the South Region’s No. 3 ranked squad Lipscomb.
UT Martin’s women were the first to get underway this morning with a 9 a.m. start in the 6k. The Skyhawks ended up finishing seventh in the field with three top-50 performers. Lilia Alvarez paced the squad for the fourth time this season with a finish of 22:37.3 for her best 6k time of the season to finish 22nd overall. Sophomore Cierra Nord recorded a personal-best time of 23:00.8 to finish 23rd while fellow classmate Rita Eimer also posted a PR of her own at 23:11.1 to come in 41st.
The Skyhawk scoring group was rounded out by sophomores Lydia Tankersley and Tori Holliday. Tankersley posted a new PR with a time of 23:48.3 while Holiday notched her best time of the season with a finish of 24:17.1.
When the men’s squad hit the course to compete in the 8k meet, the Skyhawks finished the day in fifth place with all five of the team’s scorers claiming top-35 spots. Veteran Luke McNair paced the team by finishing in ninth with a new PR time of 24:23.8 – claiming the eighth fastest 8k time in program history. The next finisher was George Payne who came in 18th with a time of 25:02.3.
The following three Skyhawk scorers came in close order as Luke Johnson (29th), Victor Kemboi (32nd) and Jack Blyth (35th) finished within six spots of each other. Johnson and Kemboi both posted PRs time of 25:18.5 and 25:26.0, respectively, while Blyth rounded out the scoring group at 25:38.5.
UT Martin will now turn its focus to the impending OVC Cross Country Championship which will be contested on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Cookeville, Tenn.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information