Purple and gold well represented at NCAA South Regional Championships
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Tennessee Tech cross country teams officially closed the book on their 2023 campaigns Friday morning, with four total Golden Eagle runners competing at the NCAA South Regional Championships at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Tennessee Tech cross country teams officially closed the book on their 2023 campaigns Friday morning, with four total Golden Eagle runners competing at the NCAA South Regional Championships at Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.
Participating with two individuals in each race, the purple and gold did not take part in the team scoring.
Kicking off the morning on the women's side were veteran Helen Pacurariu-Nagy and rookie Makaleigh Jessee, each competing in their third 6K in as many races. The senior Pacurariu-Nagy led the effort for the women, finishing 103rd among the more than 210 racers.
The Golden Eagle vet delivered with a massive personal record, besting her previous-best mark by nearly a full minute with a time of 20:56.
As for the freshman Jessee, it was a 157th-place finish for the youngster's final race of her first year in the purple and gold. The Abingdon, Va. native slashed a near 30 seconds from her previous PR in the 6K, crossing the finish line at 21:45.6.
On the men's side of the competition, it was Miceal McCaul registering a smashing performance in the 10K, his first such race of the year. The junior crushed his prior career-best mark in the event, sprinting to a time of 30:10.4, a massive 85-second improvement from last year's run.
The showing proved good enough to clinch McCaul's 39th position among a huge field of 171 completed racers. Junior James Hyland, a transfer from McNeese, did not finish the race.
File photos by Kyle Schwartz, OVC
