The UTM cross country teams posted impressive showings in its final tune-up of the regular season on a snowy and difficult course Friday afternoon at the Golden Eagle Invitational. The Skyhawk men cruised to a dominating first place finish while the women’s team finished fourth.
The Skyhawks traveled to Cookeville and competed in their final meet prior to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Cross Country Championship in a field which included Southeast Missouri, Saint Louis, Northern Kentucky, Chattanooga and host Tennessee Tech. While the recent snow and mud covered the course, UTM still made great strides on the day.
UT Martin’s men continued its record-breaking start to the season after recently receiving its highest ranking in program history – sitting ninth in the NCAA South Region earlier in the week. The Skyhawks finished in first place with 22 points as a team while all five scorers placed in the top-seven.
Senior Ryan Ford continued his impressive start to the season by posting his second individual victory in dominating fashion. On a course which measured under 8k, Ford found separation from the pack with a time of 22:41.8 – more than 38 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
The rest of the Skyhawk group handled its competition with ease as John Green finished in third place with a time of 23:21.9 while Oisin O’Gailin crossed the line at 23:30.2 to finish in fifth. Rounding out the scoring-five was the pair of Alex Schell who finished sixth at 23:34.6 while Luke McNair was close on his tail for seventh at 23:36.0. Outside of the scoring group, the Skyhawks also had the ninth, 10th, 12th and 13th place participants to highlight a banner day.
In the women’s field, UTM posted a fourth-place finish on the day with 77 points. Sophomore Erica Fisher paced the Skyhawk squad with a third-place time of 18:44.8 while classmate Taylor Ray finished eighth at 18:58.2.
Freshman Annie Amundsen led the next pack of scorers for the Skyhawks at 19:40.4 to finish in the top-20. Sophomore Breanna Roy (20:09.8) and Maggie Medley (20:33.7) wrapped up the scoring group for the Skyhawks.
“Today was definitely the most unique race we have ever had with the snow and mud we faced,” UTM head coach Kevin Mangan said. “I really thought our women performed well and looked the best they have all season especially with Erica and Taylor leading the way. Then the guys really ran well, especially the way Ryan dominated the race from the beginning to finish. They did a really good job of working together and finishing strong. Today was one of those days where it was all about competing and both of our squads met that task.”
UTM will now shift its training to prepare for the upcoming OVC Cross Country Championship to be held in Clarksville, Tennessee, on Monday, March 1.
