September 3, 2011

Greene sets personal best, leads Golden Eagles to fifth-place finish at Sewanee Invitational

John Greene ran a career-best time, finishing sixth out of 118 runners to lead Tennessee Tech at the Sewanee Invitational Saturday.

Tech women also place fifth

SEWANEE, Tenn. – John Greene ran a career-best time, finishing sixth out of 118 runners to lead Tennessee Tech at the Sewanee Invitational Saturday.

Greene, a junior, ran the 8K course in 27:41.41 for an average mile time of 5:34.30. He shattered his previous best by 38 seconds, doing so in brutally hot conditions that had most runners posting slower times.

"John came out and had a great race today," said head coach Tony Cox. "This was probably the hottest cross country meet I've ever been part of, so for him to post that type of time is very impressive."

The Golden Eagle men placed fifth overall out of 11 teams while Tech's women also finished fifth at what served as the season-opening event for both squads.

Behind Greene, sophomore Matt Bishop was the second Tech runner to finish, posting a time of 28:36.76 to place 23^rd. Junior Mike Mahan was the third Tech runner, coming in at 28:56.57, while junior Adam McLeod was fourth on the team with a time of 30:00.14, closely followed by freshman Matt Pennycuff at 30:35.43.

Junior Kolbe Andrzejewski finished in 31:17.61 and freshman Charlie Jordan came in at 31:48.49.

Mississippi State took first place on the men's side with 24 points while Emory came in at second with 60 points. Centre placed third with 94 points, Rhodes was fourth at 105 points, followed by Tech with 125 points.

On the women's side, sophomore Peri Winborne led Tech, placing 29^th overall out of 133 runners with a time of 24:40.53.

Two Golden Eagle runners, sophomore Rebecca Cline and senior Traci Jones, posted personal bests on the 6K course, which varies from the usual 5K the women run at most meets.

Cline was the second Golden Eagle to finish, coming in at 25:07.84, followed by junior Beth Miller at 25:11.72 and Jones at 25:19.87. Freshman Kara Webb finished at 25:20.80, senior Leah Bradley turned in a 25:30.59 and sophomore Megan O'Donoghue came in at 26:20.95.

Mississippi State also took first in the women's race with 18 points. Emory came in at second with 62, Rhodes was third with 76, Centre was fourth with 95 and Tennessee Tech was fifth at 152.

The Golden Eagles return to action Sept. 17 at the Georgia State Invitational in Atlanta.