Cross country runs strong at Alabama
Michael Murphy
Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: Sports
After the Chattanooga Running Mocs ran their way to a second place finish in the UTC PowerAde Invitational at the Moccasin Bend Race Course last Friday, Head Coach Bill Gautier felt content.
After this past Saturday's 13th place overall finish at the 21st Annual Crimson Classic, it is safe to say he was impressed, especially with the women's sixth place finish with an average time of 19:10.64.
"The women were awesome," Gautier said. "The freshmen are everything and more than I expected."
Junior Anneli Uys, from Somerville, Australia paced the Mocs, finishing the Women's 5-kilometer race in 18:05.20, good enough for 11th place.
Other top finishers for UTC included freshman Heather Stuive of Ontario, Canada, who finished 18th in 18:42.70, and Kathryn Stuart, a freshman from Brentwood, Tenn., who ran the course in 19:22.40 and finished 34th.
The men's team also finished in eighth and was led by junior Emmanuel Kirwa's eighth place finish in the Men's 8k run. Kirwa, from Kapsabet, Kenya, finished in 25:26.70 - just over a minute behind Alabama's Tyson David who finished first in 24:25.90.
Tyson was just one of the three Crimson Tide runners that finished in the top five, as host Alabama finished the day in first place in both the men's and women's races.
Freshman Kyle McLarty, from Collierville, Tenn. also helped pace the Mocs with a time of 25:59.80 en route to a 20th place finish.
After McLarty's impressive performance, Head Coach Bill Gautier believes Kyle can compete for the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.
"Emmanuel and Kyle ran great for us," said Gautier. "We needed that. If Chris Berry doesn't redshirt, and David Moore and Kevin can get well, we'll be in good shape."
Berry, the 2007 SoCon Freshman of the Year, ran unattached last week at the PowerAde Invitational, and finished second overall, just three-seconds behind the leader.
Coach Gautier is still unsure whether Berry will redshirt this season but is more worried about the runners that will fall in behind him.
"We've got to make sure we have the guys to back him up," Gautier said.
After impressive finishes by both Kirwa and McLarty, it seems that Berry might have just enough of a supporting cast to run for UTC this season.
After this past Saturday's 13th place overall finish at the 21st Annual Crimson Classic, it is safe to say he was impressed, especially with the women's sixth place finish with an average time of 19:10.64.
"The women were awesome," Gautier said. "The freshmen are everything and more than I expected."
Junior Anneli Uys, from Somerville, Australia paced the Mocs, finishing the Women's 5-kilometer race in 18:05.20, good enough for 11th place.
Other top finishers for UTC included freshman Heather Stuive of Ontario, Canada, who finished 18th in 18:42.70, and Kathryn Stuart, a freshman from Brentwood, Tenn., who ran the course in 19:22.40 and finished 34th.
The men's team also finished in eighth and was led by junior Emmanuel Kirwa's eighth place finish in the Men's 8k run. Kirwa, from Kapsabet, Kenya, finished in 25:26.70 - just over a minute behind Alabama's Tyson David who finished first in 24:25.90.
Tyson was just one of the three Crimson Tide runners that finished in the top five, as host Alabama finished the day in first place in both the men's and women's races.
Freshman Kyle McLarty, from Collierville, Tenn. also helped pace the Mocs with a time of 25:59.80 en route to a 20th place finish.
After McLarty's impressive performance, Head Coach Bill Gautier believes Kyle can compete for the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.
"Emmanuel and Kyle ran great for us," said Gautier. "We needed that. If Chris Berry doesn't redshirt, and David Moore and Kevin can get well, we'll be in good shape."
Berry, the 2007 SoCon Freshman of the Year, ran unattached last week at the PowerAde Invitational, and finished second overall, just three-seconds behind the leader.
Coach Gautier is still unsure whether Berry will redshirt this season but is more worried about the runners that will fall in behind him.
"We've got to make sure we have the guys to back him up," Gautier said.
After impressive finishes by both Kirwa and McLarty, it seems that Berry might have just enough of a supporting cast to run for UTC this season.