October 14, 2011

Runners head to final regular-season meet at Evansville

Tennessee Tech runners look forward to the University of Evansville Invitational for its fast course that often results in many personal-best times.

Fast course at UE often results in personal-bests

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Tech runners look forward to the University of Evansville Invitational for its fast course that often results in many personal-best times.

The meet is also much anticipated, however, due to its position at the end of the Golden Eagles' regular-season schedule. How runners fare on Saturday at the UE Cross Country Course in Evansville, Ind., will go a long way in determining head coach Tony Cox's lineup for the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Championships, held Oct. 29 at Eastern Kentucky.

"It's a good race for us," said Cox. "The competition is good — there are usually about 10-12 teams up there — and the course is not flat, but it is pretty fast. I think our runners like going up there, and we usually have a pretty good meet there. This will be the meet that determines who races at the conference championships, so it's an important meet for several of our runners."

Tech will take 12 women and 10 men to the meet, which will be held at the UE Cross Country Course, located near the I-64 and U.S. 41 interchange. The course consists of rolling hills, is run almost exclusively on grass and has been recognized as one of the top courses in the Midwest. The men's 8K begins at 11 a.m. with the women's 5K to follow at noon.

The Golden Eagles are coming off two top-six finishes at the JSU Foothills Invitational last week. John Greene led the Tech men, finishing fifth overall with a time of 26:28.77 and setting a personal record for the fourth consecutive meet. His time was the 13^th best in program history. Greene was named the OVC Co-Male Runner of the Week this week for his efforts. The rest of Tech's top five was made up of Matt Bishop, Mike Mahan, Adam McLeod and Sterling Smith.

The women's squad was paced by Rebecca Cline, who ran the 5K course in 19:29.61 and placed 24^th overall. The women's top five also consisted of Leah Bradley, Amelia McCoy, Beth Miller and Kara Webb.

Results will be posted on TTUSports.com as they become available.