The UTM cross country squads produced solid times at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Eagle Trace Golf Course in Morehead, Ky.
The men’s team was led by junior Colin Johnson whose 8k time of 26:26.32. Sophomore Justin Morgan just trailed Johnson with a finishing time of 26:31.85. Freshman Dalton Hudlow finished with a time of 27:04.99.
Other UTM finishers include freshman Joey DeSantis (27:11.16), sophomore Alazar Haile (27:49.99), junior Josiah Roberts (29:00.55), freshman David Wells (29:51.31) and senior Vance Pounders (17:35.50).
“We had a very good day with the men with the biggest surprise being Colin’s top guy slot today,” said UTM coach Gordon Sanders. “He is still a bit off from his all-conference year, but he has certainly minimized the effects of an ailment he has fought all season. Top frosh Dalton Hudlow improved by almost a minute while neophyte Alazar Haile was our final scorer in only his second college race. These three men were supported by the solid, consistent effort of sophomore Justin Morgan and freshman Joey DeSantis to put the guys in front of five other conference teams.”
The women’s team was led by sophomore Hayley Doty finished with a 5k time of 20:12.31. Senior Hannah Wolters (20:19.40) was trailed by sophomore Alexandra Stover with a time of 21:02.70.
Other UTM finishers include junior Grace Lucas (21:12.07), sophomore Abby Frantom (21:49.51), freshman Olivia Owens (21:58.78), sophomore Kaycee Grimes (22:20.94) and freshman Heather Mullis (22:36.67).
“The ladies had a tougher job as evidence by the fact that only 15 conference women ran better than 18:45 on the 5k course this year, compared to 45 doing so last year,” continued Sanders. “A fair course muddied by the rains and trampling of the men’s rounds, forced the ladies to measure their efforts by feel and not by the clock. Hannah did this best in her standard end of year, best racing to be our top lady for the first team this year. Hayley was a model of consistency and held an even effort as our second lady while Grace has finished her first season as a dependable scorer. Still, it was a tough day and season for this young team.”
“All will be resting and resetting for the spring season except for Colin and Justin who earned a trip to the NCAA South Regional Championship in two weeks,” stated Gordon.
The Skyhawk pair of Johnson and Morgan will now look to the NCAA Regionals to be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The NCAA Regionals are slated for Saturday, Nov. 15.
