October 3, 2012

Runners converge on Southern Hills Friday for annual TTU Invitational

A field of six men's teams and five women's teams will converge on Cookeville's Southern Hills Golf Course Friday to compete in the annual TTU Invitational Cross Country Invitational. Admission and parking are free for spectators.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- A field of six men's teams and five women's teams will converge on Cookeville's Southern Hills Golf Course Friday to compete in the annual TTU Invitational Cross Country Invitational.

The women will run a 5K race beginning at 3 p.m., while the men will battle through an 8K event starting at 3:45 p.m. Joining Tech in the women's race will be Carson Newman, Evansville, North Alabama and Tennessee State. Those same schools will be joined by Lipscomb in the men's race.

With between 60 and 70 runners in each race, the TTU Invitational will be one of the largest Tech has hosted.

"Being our home meet, we consider this to be one of our most important meets of the year," said Tech coach Tony Cox. "This is where we start making decisions on who is going to run in the conference meet. I think the weather is going to be great on Friday, and we're excited about hosting."

Tech's runners have become familiar with the layout at Southern Hills, which includes a couple of challenging hills and some breathtaking scenery throughout the course.

"It's a hilly course. It's probably one of the hardest courses we race on during the year, but it's a good course," Cox said. "There is a lot of variety and it is a good spectator course."

The Tech women's team will feature 11 runners -- Kendale Caldwell, Rebecca Cline, Dalis Connell, Kathryn Forbes, Landry Loving, Amelia McCoy, Beth Miller, Elizabeth Mitchell, Meghan O'Donoghue, Kara Webb and Peri Winborne.

A year ago Peri Winborne was Tech's top finisher, placing fifth overall in the time of 20:13.67. The Golden Eagles placed second behind Jacksonville State.

In the men's race, Tech's lineup will include 10 runners: Kolbe Andrzejewski, Matt Bishop, Daniel Francis, Charlie Jordan, Nathan Livesey, Adam McLeod, Mike Mahan, Sterling Smith, Matt Pennycuff and Nathan Snow.

Last year, Jacksonville State edged Tech for the team title, while Golden Eagle John Greene was the individual winner with a time of 26:39.

The meet is open to the public and admission and parking are free. Complete results will be posted on TTUsports.com as soon as they become available.