UT Men Take 5th, Women Finish 10th at NCAA South Regional

November 10, 2017 | Track & Field

Women's 6K Results Men's 10K Results

Megan Murray finished 19th in the women's 6K; Zach Long took 21st in the men's 10K

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams saved their best races of the season for Friday at the 2017 NCAA South Regional held at Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Both teams exceeded expectations as the UT men finished fifth and the UT women took 10th in their respective races.

2017 NCAA South Regional

Tennessee Women - 10th out of 31
19. Megan Murray, 20:33.8
34. Niamh Schumacher, 20:57.4
78. Abigail Smith, 21:38.3
87. Rachel Ware, 21:46.4
103. Peighton Meske, 22:01.1
126. Taylor Luthringer, 22:25.8
182. Cassidy Giles, 23:17.59

Tennessee Men - 5th out of 24
21. Zach Long, 31:30.8
27. Wesley Robinson, 31:42.7
38. Alex Crigger, 32:06.1
45. John Elrod, 32:11.8
53. Conner Hawkins, 32:22.6
59. Andre Hillsman, 32:34.8
78. Gashaw Duhamel, 32:58.3

Ole Miss (59 points) won the women's 6K and Georgia (73) was the runner-up. Georgia sophomore Samantha Drop took the women's individual title in 19:40.90.

Middle Tennessee State (71 points) and Ole Miss (76) were the top two teams in the men's 10K. Alabama junior Gilbert Kigen won the men's individual title in 29:44.50.

The Tennessee women opened the day with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m. ET. Tennessee (303 points) finished 10th out of 31 teams and five UT women scored in the top 100 and the team posted its best NCAA Regional finish since 2009 when the Big Orange took third place. Sophomore Megan Murray paced the Tennessee women, finishing 19th in 20:33.80. Freshman Niamh Schumacher finished 34th in 20:57.40 and fellow freshmen Abigail Smith (78th, 21:38.30) and Rachel Ware (87th, 21:46.40) added top 100 finishes. Peighton Meske rounded out UT's top five, placing 103rd in 22:01.10. Freshman Taylor Luthringer took 126th in 22:25.80 and junior Cassidy Giles finished in 182nd in 23:17.90.

"A great day down here in Alabama" Tennessee director of track & field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "Starting off with the ladies, we had a tremendous end result with 10th place. We were trying to break into the top 15 and the team ended up in the top 10. We had a tremendous race out of Megan Murray and Niamh Schumacher and then just a really tough team effort from everybody after that. We are overwhelmed and pleased with the women's results. It set us up for a year from now to make some moves in conference and at the regional level, so we were very pleased with the result."

The Tennessee men (165 points) placed fifth out of 24 teams with all seven runners finishing in the top 80 and the top five scoring in the top 50, points-wise. Junior Zach Long placed 21st in 31:30.80 and junior Wesley Robinson finished 27th in 31:42.70. The UT freshman trio of Alex Crigger (38th, 32:06.10), John Elrod (45th, 32:11.80) and Conner Hawkins (53rd, 32:22.60) continued to impress, all finishing in the top 60. Senior Andre Hillsman (59th, 32:34.80) and sophomore Gashaw Duhamel (78th, 32:58.30) rounded out Tennessee's seven-man team.

"For the men, it was an outstanding day," Alford-Sullivan said. "I just can't say enough about this young team. Zach Long got himself into a little bit of trouble today for the first time. He has been racing so hard and so consistent this season, but the 10K kind of came back and jumped on his back. He held onto a top 20 (points) finish and we were just thrilled for him to be able to do that. Wesley Robinson ran again at No. 2 and finished in the top 30. He moved through the entire race and just had a tremendous effort out there today. Then we look at the contingency of freshmen and they were just tough as nails. Alex Crigger, John Elrod and Conner Hawkins just really gave it their all today for the Orange and White. I was so proud of them. Andre Hillsman continues to impress and come through for us and Gashaw Duhamel as well. They really put themselves into competitive mode today and gave us a result that we were not expecting coming into it.

"Alabama did a great job hosting. It is a very difficult course. The course has a lot of twists, turns, hills and uneven surfaces. They hosted a great national qualifying championship and we are very proud of the Vols today. We can end this season with a lot of momentum moving us forward."