07.13.10: BUMBALOUGH CLOCKS 7:51 3000 IN LIEGE: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough clocked a new personal best at 3000m in placing 7th at the Meeting International de Liege in Belgium. The former Georgetown University star clocked 7:51.87, well behind the race winner, Jacob Chesari of Kenya (7:38.53), but second (just behind Scott Bauhs) among the six Americans in the field. [results]

07.11.10: BUMBALOUGH CLOCKS 3:41 1500 IN BRAASCHAAT: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough clocked 3:41.81 to place 7th in a tight finish in the men's 1500m at the in International Meeting in Braaschaat, Belgium. Bumbalough led the race at the bell, but countryman Jeff See won the race with a strong last 150 meters to come home in 3:40.94. [results]

07.10.10: TENNESSEE TRIO COMPETE IN 1500 AT GATESHEAD: Tennessee had a trio of Knoxville runners competing in the Avive BritishGrand Prix meet in the northeasterrn England city of Gateshead. In a women's 1500m won by Brit Lisa Dobriskey in 4:03.69, Sarah Bowman placed 7th in 4:08.22, Treniere Clement was 8th in 4:10.38, and Heidi Dahl was 12th in 4:16.23. [results]

07.08.10: BOWMAN CLOCKS SEASON'S BEAT IN LAUSANNE: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman took part on the women's 1500m at the prestigious Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland and notched a season's best. Bowman, a 2009 UT grad, placed 11th in a time of 4:09.80. Although well behind race winner, Gelete Burka of Ethiopia, who clocked a world-leading 3:59.28, Bowman's time was a season's best for her and her 3rd fastest ever. [results]

07.07.10: RUNNER'S WORLD INTERVIEWS PHOEBE WRIGHT: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright, who had such a breakthrough race in the women's 800m at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend was the subject of an interview with Runner's World's Peter Gambaccini. She discusses how her season unfolded and her plans for racing the rest of the summer. [more, runnersworld.com]

07.03.10: WRIGHT ANNIHILATES PR, TOPS U.S LIST AT PREFONTAINE CLASSIC: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright had a jaw-dropping run in the women's 800m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene,OR. This meet, part of the IAAF Diamond League series, brought in a top notch field for the women's 800m with 10 sub-2:00 runners and five sub-1:58 exponents, not to mention the 2008 Olympic champ, Pamela Jelimo, and silver medalist, Janeth Jepoksgei, and reigning 1500m world champion, Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain.

Not overawed in the slightest, the NCAA champion and former UT walk-on, running in just her second race as a pro, placed 4th, shattering her PR with a 1:58.22 clocking and beating U.S Champion, Alyssia Johnson as well as the three afore-mentioned stars in a race won by Russia's Mariya Savinova in a world-leading 1:57.56. Wright's time, which sliced two seconds off her previous PR is the fastest by an American thus far in 2010, ranks her 5th in the world this year, and remarkably the second fastest two-lapper by an American woman since 2005 (only Maggie Vessey in 2009 has gone faster)! [results]

06.27.10: WRIGHT 3RD, CLEMENT 4TH IN 800 AT U.S CHAMPS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright had a very impressive run in the women's 800m final at the U.S Championships in Des Moines,IA. Wright, 22, who turned pro, signing a contract with Nike, the night before the race, tracked (eventual winner) Alyssia Johnson through halfway, splitting 59.1. But with just over 200 meters left, having taken the lead, Wright was bumped as she was passed on the inside by Johnson who went on to win in 1:59.87. Wright lost momentum but gathered herself well enough to battle Maggie Vessey in a battle for 2nd.

Wright would eventually place 3rd, as she did in 2009, clocking a season's best of 2:00.47, just four hundredths of a second behind Vessey, and just inches ahead of another Knoxville-based runner, Treniere Clement (2:00.51). Although she fell short of her goal of winning the U.S title, to go with the two SEC and two NCAA titles she won this year, Wright's is a remarkable tale of what can be achieved with hard work and great coaching. The former Red Bank High school runnerwas a walk-on at UT and is now a professional runner representing Nike. Wright, who will remain living in Knoxville to train under coach J.J. Clark, will next race at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene,OR on July 3.

Earlier in the day, in the men's 3000m steeplechase final, Cordova's Josh McAdams and Knoxville's Anthony Famiglietti competed. In a race that saw Dan Huling win in comfortable fashion in 8:27.87, McAdams placed 4th in 8:34.43, while Famiglietti struggled, placing 10th in 8:47.08. [results]

06.26.10: BOWMAN 5TH IN 1500AT U.S CHAMPS: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman placed 5th in a tactical and rather physical women's 1500m final that saw the pace remain fairly sedate the bell, before a ferocious last lap that saw pre-race favorite Anna Pierce pull clear to win in 4:13.65 (with a 59.2 last lap). Bowman, 23, who graduated from UT in 2009 and is now running professionally for New Balance, clocked 4:16.50 (with a 62.1 last lap). "I wanted to do better than that," she said after the race, "My goal was top three. I didn't hit it. But that's okay. It's a learning experience." Bowman will race in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 8. [results]

06.25.10: BUMBALOUGH 3RD IN 5000 AT U.S CHAMPS: In his first post-collegiate race, Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough had a great run in the men's 5000m at the U.S Championships in Des Moines,IA. The recent Georgetown grad was content to sit in the pack as the pace remained somewhat pedestrian until 3000. Pre-race favorite and U.S record holder Bernard Lagat kicked clearon the final lap to win in 13:54.08, ahead of Tim Nelson in second in 13:54.80, with Bumbalough (splitting 57.06 for the last 400, 1:58.8 for the last 800 and 4:12.15 for the last 1600) finished third, just half a step behind Nelson in 13:55.16. The former Brentwood Academy star, who suffered from mono during the indoor season and therefore got a late start to his outdoor season, will now pursue running professionally and plans to race in Europe this summer.

Knoxville's Treniere Moser and Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright easily advanced to Sunday's women's 800m final. Moser looked very relaxed in placing 4th in her semi-final heat in 2:01.83 (won by Alyssia Johnson in 1:59.43), but Wright looked very impressive, winning her heat in 2:01.86. Hazel Clark-Riley, the 2008 and 2009 U.S Champ and 3-time Olympian, ran out of gas in the home stretch and could only manage 6th in 2:03.00, not good enough to make the final. In the men's 3000m steeplechase prelims, both of the Tennesseans in action, 2008 U.S champion, Anthony Famiglietti of Knoxville, and 2009 champ, Josh McAdams of Cordova, safely advanced, clocking 8:43.31 and 8:45.22 respectively to qualify for Sunday's final. [results | race video you should have seen live, before the pricks at ESPN cut to baseball]

06.24.10: WRIGHT, MOSER, CLARK-RILEY ADVANCE TO 800 SEMI-FINALS, BOWMAN TO 1500 FINAL AT U.S CHAMPS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright and Knoxville's Treniere Moser and Hazel Clark-Riley all advanced to Friday night's women's 800m semi-final at the U.S Championships in Des Moines,IA. Wright and Moser clocked 2:02.33 and 2:02.38 respectively to advance automatically, but Clark-Riley, the reigning U.S champ, after easing up as the finish line approached, was only one of the 'fastest losers' clocking 2:02.45. The three-time Olympian slowed up too early in her heat, slipping from second to fourth place. “I’m going to be in a lot of trouble when I get out of here,” she told reporters after the race. "My brother [and coach, J.J Clark] is on the other side of those doors and he’s going to strangle me. I got caught,” she said. “and that’s like a no-no.”

In the women's 1500m prelims, Knoxville's Sarah Bowman and Heidi Dahl had mixed fortunes. Bowman advanced with a 4:13.34 clocking to place 4th in her heat, but Dahl, who recently moved to Knoxville from Johnson City, coulc only muster a 7th place finish in 4:20.62, and will not be in Saturday's final. In the junior men's 800m prelims, Cordova's Leoman Momoh, a freshman at Arkansas, clocked 1:52.29 but did not advance to Saturday's final. [results]

06.19.10: McKELVEY, PRINCE JUST MISS ALL-AMERICAN STATUS AT NEW BALANCE OUTDOOR NATIONALS: Maryville's Clint McKelvey and Antioch's Quamel Prince each placed 8th in their respective events at the prestigious New Balance Outdoor Nationals High School Meet in Greensboro,NC to just miss all-American honors (top 6). McKelvey (right), a recent Maryville High School grad who will attend Duke University in the fall, clocked 8:59.17 (worth 8:56.04 - #4 TN All-time) in the boys' 2 miles in a very competitive race that saw New Jersey twins, Joe and Jim Rosa, go 1-2 in 8:44.06 and 8:51.46. In the same race, Clarksville's Jake Rainey placed 16th in 9:13.57.

In a fiercely competitive boys' 800m, Quamel Prince, a senior at Antioch High School, despite being in the slowest of the three heats, clocked the 8th fastest time of the day to win his heat in 1:51.27 (#3 TN All-time), and edge Brentwood High's Ford Bell, who won his heat in 1:51.45 for 8th overall. McKelvey's time improves his PR and puts him in the top 20 in the nation. Prince's time ranks him #17 nationally, #3 on the TN All-time list, and, even more remarkably, ranks him as the second fastest sophomore in the U.S this year. [results | race videos, flotrack.org]

06.19.10: EDMONDS, MURRAY WINNERS AT MOON PIE 10-MILER: Battling a heat index of 100 degrees, Nashville's Jeff Edmonds and Franklin's Rebecca Murray were the overall male and female winners at the 14th annual R.C Cola & Moon Pie 10-miler in Bell Buckle. Edmonds, 33, conquered the heat, humidity and hills, as well as the 782 other runners, to win in 57:41, 77 seconds up on runner-up, Matt Pulle, of Columbia,MO. Twenty-five year old Murray clocked 1:06:36 to lead the women home in convincing fashion, three seconds up on Caitlin Anderson. The first male and female masters to finish were Franklin's Kentucky Wempe, 41, and 48-year-old Theresa Peacock of Murfreesboro, clocking times of 1:01:08 and 1:10:17 (good for 3rd female overall) respectively. [results]

06.19.10: COFFEY, CATES WINNERS AT BREW-HA SUMMER SOLSTICE 8K: Ethan Coffey and Mary Beth Cates were the overall male and female winners of the Summer Solstice Brew-Ha 8K Challenge in Walland. Coffey clocked 28:49 to outpace Jason Altman by 10 seconds, while Cates clocked 26:35 to win by over a minute. First masters to finish were Maryville's Brent Bueche, 48, and Seymour's Laura Gearhiser, 47, clocking 33:13 and 37:29 respectively. [results]

06.17.10: MANSY 7TH IN 5000 AT NEW BALANCE OUTDOOR NATIONALS: Johnson City's Michael Mansy (right) ran very well to place 7th in the boys' 5000m and narrowly miss all-American status at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals High School meet in Greensboro,NC. Racing in his first first ever 5000 on the track, the recent Science Hill grad, who will attend North Carolina State in the fall, clocked 14:55.35 in a race won by Florida's Matt Mizereck in 14:37.19. [results | race videos, flotrack.org]

06.12.10: BELL CLOCKS 1:51.34 800 IN INDIANAPOLIS: Brentwood High School's Ford Bell booked his place in the fast heat for next week's New Balance Outdoor Nationals high school meet in North Carolina with a fine performance over 800 meters at the third meet in the American Milers Club series in Indianapolis,IN. Running in the open heat, Bell took on some solid post-collegiate runners and had a fine run, clocking a 1:51.34 PR (TN #1, US #21). [results]

06.12.10: BUMBALOUGH 3RD IN 5000 AT NCAA CHAMPS: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough threw everything he had at pre-race favorites Sam Chelanga of Liberty and David McNeill of Northern Arizona, and came away with a fine 3rd place finish in a thrilling men's 5000m at the NCAA Div.I National Championships in Eugene,OR. Splitting 8:27.8 through 3 kilometers, Bumbalough,running for Georgetown in the final collegiate race of his career, was never more than a second away from the big two, until the last 800m, which the Australian McNeill rolled in a stunning 1:54.8, to clock 13:44.81. Bumbalough couldn't quite overhaul Chelanga, finishing just 0.62 seconds behind the Kenyan (who won the 10,000 48 hrs earlier) in a time of 13:46.17 (1:56.1 last 800, 4:10.61 last 800). This race marked the 7th time that the former Brentwood Academy start earned All-American status while at Georgetown, and also marks a fantastic recovery from a diastrous winter that saw him sideline with mononucleosis.

In the final event of the day, the men's 4 x 400m relay, Bartlett's James Gilreath a junior at Baylor better known as a two- lapper, led of the Bears' quartet that placed 6th in 3:04.85 in a race that saw Texas A&M win in 3:00.89 and seal the overall team title with 55 points.[results]

06.12.10: FAM 7TH IN STEEPLE, MOSER 4:07 1500 AT ADIDAS NYC GRAND PRIX: Four Knoxville residents were in action at the Adidas Grand Prix Meet in New York City. Anthony Famiglietti, running in his first 3000m Steeplechase since 2008, clocked a respectable 8:30.84 in 7th (4th American), as Kenyan Paul Koech comfortably ran away with the race in 8:10.43. The women's 800m saw a disappointing showing for Heidi Dahl and Sarah Bowman, as they placed 4th and 6th in a U.S-only race clocking 2:03.98 and 2:04.20 respectively, as Laura Januszewski won in 2:03.39. Treniere Moser probably had the best day of the Tennessee contingent, despite only placing 12th in her race. She clocked 4:07.49, just four seconds of off her PR and her fastest in three years, in a race won by Kenya's Nancy Langat in a world-leading 4:01.60. [results]

06.11.10: WRIGHT CRUSHES FIELD IN 800, KROEGER 5TH IN 5000 AT NCAA CHAMPS: Pre-race favorite, Phoebe Wright of Tennessee had little trouble picking up the women's 800m title at the NCAA National Championships in Eugene,OR. The senior, who hails from Signal Mountain, led the entire race, towing the field through halfway in 58.65 with only LSU's Latavia Morris and Indiana's Molly Beckwith in serious contention. But a 30.84 final 200m saw Wright pull away in convincing fashion to win in 2:01.40, with Beckwith nabbing second in 2:02.14. "She handled herself well," said coach J.J. Clark. "It's hard to lead wire-to-wire in the wind like this, but she's very strong. She thought she was the best, and she ran that way. I was happy to have the win, because when you come here (NCAA meet), it's not about the time; it's about winning, and that's what she did."

In the women's 5000m, Franklin's Kathy Kroeger, a freshman at Stanford, ran exceptionally well. While pre-race favorite, Lisa Koll of Iowa State (who won the 10,000 the previous night) dominated the race up front, winning in15:23.80, Kroeger was the lone freshman in a fierce battle for all-American statusm which saw just 1.6 seconds separate 4th place from 10th place. Kroeger held on very well, thanks to a 70.8-second last lap, to place 5th in 16:06.36. [results]

06.05.10: CLARK-RILEY WELL BEATEN IN ROME: Knoxville's Hazel Clark-Riley had a disappointing run in the women's 800m at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, Italy. She placed 11th of the 13 runners in the field, clocking 2:01.48, while fellow U.S runner, Maggie Vessey placed 9th in 2:00.73 in a race won by Morocco's Halima Hachlaf in a world-leading 1:58.50 [results]

06.05.10: TWO MEET RECORDS, FOUR SUB-4:00 MILES AT MUSIC CITY DISTANCE CARNIVAL: Two meet records and a thrilling men's mile provided the high points of the 8th annual Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville. The meet, back at the newly resurfaced Vanderbilt track, after a year at MTSU, produced yielded some outstanding including two meet records - Nebraskan Angee Henry clocked 2:01.81 (U.S #5) to win the women's 800m, while Kansan Amy Mortimer clocked 4:33.96 (U.S #1) to win the women's Mile. The men's mile saw former University of Virginia runner, Andrew Jesien (right), win in 3:59.11 with three other runners cracking the 4-minute barrier right behind him. Among Tennesseans in action, Josh McAdams of Memphis, the reigning U.S champion, won his signature event, the men's 3000m steeplechase (8:47.46), while Knoxvillians, Andrew Dawson and Anthony Famiglietti, placed 6th in the 800m (1:48.61 - TN #1) and 9th in the Mile (4:03.85 - TN #1) respectively. The high school boys' races saw PR runs in second from Brentwood High's Ford Bell and Clint McKelvey in the 800m (1:52.38 - TN #1) and Mile (4:12.24 - TN #1) respectively. In the high school girls' races, Baylor's Hannah Jumper ran impressively to win the Mile in 5:00.94 (TN #1), while Patavia Lowery of West High School placed a very close 2nd in the 800m in 2:16.50. [results]

06.05.10: KENYAN SWEEP AT SHONEY'S 5K: Nashville's local stand-outs Ryan Snellen and Melissa Begin couldn't prevent a Kenyan sweep at the Shoney's 5K held in downtown Nashville. Former Alabama stand-out, Tyson David, in town for the Music City Distance Carnival later that day, cruised to an easy win in 15:26, just ahead of Georgia-based Kenyan, Sammy Nyamongo's 15:28, whil Nashville's Ryan Snellen, last year's winner, had to settle for 3rd in 15:31. In the women's race, Rome,GA-based Kenyan, Janet Cherobon, finished in 17:40, 36 seconds clear of Nashville's Melissa Begin, while Michelle Scott, 40, of Bowling Green,KY nabbed 3rd in 19:10. Nashville's Trey Harwell was the first male master home, clocking 19:45. [results]

05.29.10: KROEGER, CURRY ADVANCE TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FROM WEST REGION MEET: Franklin's Kathy Kroeger easily advanced to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines,IA in two weeks with an 11th place finish in the women's 5000m at the NCAA West Region Chamionships held in Austin,TX. The Stanford freshman, who was a 7-time state champion while at Independence High School, clocked 16:39.80 as U.S collegiate leader Lisa Koll of Iowa State cruised to a 16:28.58 win. Nashville's Krisna Curry, a UCLA senior, did not advance in the 800m (she trailed in last in 2:20.58) but was part of the Bruins' 4 x 400m relay quartet that placed 8th in 3:34.08. [results]

05.29.10: BUMBALOUGH LOOKS GOOD, MOVES ON TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT EAST REGION MEET: Insert copy here [results]

05.29.10: SITIENEI, CHANEY OVERALL WINNERS AT EXPO 10,000: Chattanooga-based Kenyan Joseph Sitieniei and Emily Chaney of Asheville,NC were the overall male and female winners at the 33rd annual Tennessee Sports Medicine Expo 10,000 held in downtown Knoxville. Sitienei covered the hilly 10-kilometer course in 32:39 (the slowest winning time on record), with ex-Vol Eric Bell placing second in 33:19. Chaney ran impressively to clock 36:50, with ex-Lady Vol, Katie Flaute, placing second in 37:28. Masters champs were Chattanooga's Tim Ensign, 47, who clocked 35:30, and Knoxville's Kathy Wolski, 44, who ran 37:44. [results: 10K | 5K]

05.28.10: TSSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Insert copy here [results]

05.28.10: WRIGHT ALL ROUND: RED BANK GRAD NEARS END OF AMAZING UT CAREER: There was little tangible reason to think Signal Mountain resident Phoebe Wright would become one of the most successful student-athletes in University of Tennessee history. Wright was a solid runner at Red Bank High School, but far from a spectacular one. She finished sixth in the state meet at 800 meters as a sophomore, then fourth as a junior and fifth as a senior. Her personal best was 2 minutes, 15.95 seconds -- several seconds slower than UT generally prefers. Yet four years, eight All-America awards and multiple national championships later, Wright seems to be no surprise to anyone in the UT track and field program. [more, Chattanooga Times Free Press]

05.22.10: TRENIERE RIPS ONE AT OCCIDENTAL: Knoxville's Treniere Moser (right) had what was probably her best 800-meter race in three years at the USATF High Performance Meet held at Occidental College in Los Angeles,CA. She clocked 2:01.33 to outpace Morgan Uceny, and Moser's training partner Shannon Rowbury. In the other heat, Knoxville's Heidi Dahl clocked an impressive 2:02.36 to place 3rd in the other heat, won by Alice Schmidt in 2:01.68. [results]

05.21.10: FIELDS ANNOUNCED FOR NCAA "FIRST ROUND" MEETS: In the new system starting this year, the top 48 Div.I performers in each event from the east and west regions compete for 12 spots in the 24 person fields in the NCAA finals in Eugene two weeks later. The East region meet takes place in Greensboro, NC, while the West meet will be in Austin, TX, with both meets taking place May 27-29 (Thu-Sat). Quite a few Tennessean distance runners qualified, led by Phoebe Wright, the #2 seed in the women's 800m, and Andrew Bumbalough, #4 in the men's 5000m. Here is a list of the qualifiers (along with their event, rank, university/hometown). East region: Men - Emerson Peacock (800m, #20, Tennessee/Oak Ridge), Cameron Bean (3000m Steeplechase, #40, Samford/Soddy Daisy), Andrew Bumbalough (5000m, #4, Georgetown/Brentwood), Sean Keveren (5000m, #37, Virginia/Brentwood); Women - Phoebe Wright (800m, #2, Tennessee/Signal Mountain); RIta Jorgensen (1500m, #23, Vanderbilt/Memphis). West region: Men - James Gilreath (800m, #24, Baylor/Bartlett), Rob Sorrell (5000m, #21, Oklahoma/Memphis); Women - Krishna Curry (800m, #16, UCLA/Nashville), Kathy Kroeger (5000m, #9, Stanford/Franklin). [start lists: East: men | women; West: men | women]

05.16.10: WRIGHT CRUISES TO VICTORY, PEACOCK 5TH IN SEC 800: On Day 4 of the SEC Championships at UT, Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright, as expected, cruised to a convincing win in the women's 800m final, clocking an NCAA-leading 2:01.81 to beat rival Latavia Thomas of LSU by a second and a half. Memphis' Rita Jorgensen placed 9th in 2:15.84 after having placed 9th in the 1500 (in 4:30.67) 80 minutes earlier. In the men's 800m final, Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a UT sophomore, placed 5th in a season's best of 1:48.70. The men's 5000m yielded two huge PRs for Tennesseans, Bejan Abtahi and Matt Sonnenfeldt. Abtahi, a Georgia senior who hails from Nashville, ran by far the best track race of his career, clocking 14:14.72 to place 8th, while Knoxville's Matt Sonnenfeldt, a freshman at Kentucky, clocked 14:23.14. [results]

05.16.10: KROEGER 5TH IN 5000 AT PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Franklin's Kathy Kroeger, a Stanford University frosh, ran well to place 5th in the women's 5000m at the PAC-10 Championships held in Berkeley,CA. The former Independence High star, who won 4 AAA State Cross-Country titles, clocked 16:17.61. Another middle Tennessean competing was Nashville's Krishna Curry, a former state champ at USN. Now a senior at UCLA, Curry clocked 2:09.11 in the women's 800m prelims, narrowly missing out on a spot in the final. [results]

05.16.10: GILREATH 3RD IN 800, SORRELL 4TH IN 5000 AT BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: On the final day of the Big 12 Championships held in Columbia,MO, two Memphis runners represented the Volulnteer state in fine style. James Gilreath, who prepped at Bartlett High School and is now a junior at Baylor, placed 3rd in the men's 800m final, clocking 1:49.36 in a race won by Missouri's Blake Irwin in 1:48.40. Not long afterwards, Oklahoma junior, Rob Sorrell, placed 4th in the men's 5000m, clocking 14:09.81, just four seconds behind Oklahoma State's John Kosgei, who won in 14:05.96. [results]

05.15.10: MOSER CLOCKS 2:01 800 AT GEORGIA TECH: Knoxville'sTrenier Moser (nee Clement) won the women's 800m at the Georgia tech Invitational in Atlanta,GA, clocking a speedy 2:01.60. [results]

05.15.10: SCOTT SWEEP AT STRAWBERRY STRIDE 5K: Jef and Michelle Scott of Bowling Green,KY made the 20 minute jaunt south over the Tennessee state line a fruitful one as they swept the overall male and female titles at the Strawberry Stride 5K in Portland. Jef clocked 15:24 to finish 63 seconds clear of Nashville's Alex Moore, while Michelle clocked 18:59. [results]

05.14.10: PEACOCK, WRIGHT, JORGENSEN ALL ADVANCE TO SEC 800 FINALS: On Day 2 of the SEC Championships at UT's Tom Black track in Knoxville, Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock safely advanced to the men's 800m final, clocking 1:49.15 in his preliminary heat to place 3rd. In the women's 800m, Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright (a UT senior) cruised through to the final winning her heat with ease in 2:05.74, while Memphis' Rita Jorgensen (a Vanderbilt junior) clocked 2:09.88 to nab the last qualifying spot. In the women's 10,000m, Morristown's Haley Moody (a junior at Alabama) placed 10th in a time of 37:33.48, while Georgia's Bridget Lyons ran away with the race in 34:44.88. In the men's 10,000, Nashville's Bejan Abtahi (a Georgia senior) also placed 10th, clocking 30:36.32 in as race won by Auburn's Ben Cheruiyot 29:31.82. [live results]

05.13.10: BOWMAN IMPRESSES WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT U.S ROAD MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman ran a great race at the U.S 1 mile Road Championships held in downtown Minneapolis,MN. The former UT star placed a close 2nd to Anna Pierce, clocking 4:34.9 to Pierce's 4:33.9, as both runners reeled in earlyu leader Cristin Wurth with about a quarter of a mile remaining. Not far behind was Heidi Dahl, who just moved to Knoxville from Johnson City and will join Bowman's training group under coach J.J. Clark. She finished 5th in 4:40.8. In the men's race, David Torrence won in 4:04.0. Bowman (who picked up $2500 in prize money in Minneapolis) and Dahl (who pocketed $800) will race each other again in the women's Mile at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville on June 5th. [results | race video, runnerspace.com]

05.08.10: BOWMAN, PEACOCK IMPRESS OVER 2 LAPS AT TENNESSEE INVITATIONAL: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman and Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock each ran great 800-meter races at the Tennessee Invitational at UT's Tom Black track. Bowman, a 2009 UT grad now running for New Balance, established a new PR in winning the women's 800m in 2:02.25, after benfitting from the rabbitting of Hazel Clark-Riley and Phoebe Wright through 600 meters. In second place was training partner Victoria Martinez, who clocked 2:08.01. Peacock, a UT sophomore, showed a return to form after an indoor season and early outdoor season that saw indiffirent form. The former Oak Ridge High School stand-out clocked 1:48.96 to win ahead of former UT runner, Andrew Dawson, who clocked 1:49.82. Johnson City's Allie Scalf, a freshman at Vanderbilt, won the women's 1500m in a PR of 4:40.57. [results]

05.02.10: BUMBALOUGH 3RD IN BIG EAST 1500, 5000: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough continued his return to form after a bout of mononucelosis during the winter. At the Big East Conference Championships held in CIncinnati,OH, the Goergetown fifth year senior, the day after cruising through the men's 1500m prelims with a 3:49.03 clocking, placed 3rd in a final that turned into a sit 'n' kick affair after a couple of 70-second laps. Bumbalough (right) clocked 3:57.63, 0.70 seconds behind winner Daniel Clark of Notre Dame. In the 5000m, about 90 minutes later, Bumbalough again placed 3rd, clocking 14:02.86 as Louisville's Matt Hughes won in 13:59.30. [results]

05.01.10: KROEGER CLOCKS 16:01 IN 5000 TRACK DEBUT: Franklin's Kathy Kroeger clocked an outstanding 16:01.16 in her first ever 5K on the track. The Stanford University freshman placed 5th in her heat of the women's 5000m at the Peyton Jordan Invitational in Paolo Alto,CA. At the same meet an unbelievable men's 10,000m saw Chris Solinksky shatter the U.S record with a stunning 26:59.60 clocking. [results | video of Kroeger's heat, flotrack.org]

04.30.10: CLARK-RILEY CLOCKS 2:00 800 IN JAMAICA: Knoxville's Hazel Clark-Riley ran impressively in the women's 800m at the Jamaica Invitational in Kingston. The 32-year-old clocked 2:00.45, her fastest ever opening 2-lapper of the season, to place 3rd behind winner Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica (1:58.62). Former training partner and fellow Knoxville resident, Treniere Moser (now coached by John Cook), clocked 2:02.72 in 3rd place. [results]

04.30.10: LORD CLOCKS SOLO 4:09 STUNNER AT McCALLIE MID SOUTH MEET: Lookout Mountain's Brandon Lord is on a tear lately. The University of Georgia-bound Baylor senior, who clocked a TN all-time #3 8:55 3200 in California two weeks ago lowered his 1600 PR at the McCallie Mid South Meet on Friday night in Chattanooga. Despite having no competition whatsoever (he finished 22 seconds ahead of the next runner), Lord (right) clocked an eye-popping 4:09.69 to eclipse former Baylor (and future UGA) teammate Bill Matthews' meet record of 4:11.00 and move to #4 all-time on the TN high school all-time list. [results]

04.24.10: WRIGHT CLOCKS 2:00 ANCHOR IN 4 x800 TO COMPLETE LADY VOL SWEEP AT PENN RELAYS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright ran an sizzling 2:00.9 anchor leg for the University of Tennessee quartet that won the women's 4 x 800m relay at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia,PA. The quartet of Kimarra McDonald (2:07.7), Chanelle Price(2:05.3), Brittany Sheffey (2:04.3), and Wright combined for an 8:19.22 clocking , just 0.3 seconds away from the national record set by UT last year. Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough clocked a 4:02.8 anchor for the Georgetown team that placed 6th behind winners Oregon in the men's 4 x 1 mile relay at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia,PA. Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock clocked a 1:51.0 split on the UT quartet that placed 5th in the men's 4 x 800m relay as Virginia edged Oregon for the win in a thrilling race. [live results]

04.23.10: PAULSON IS FIRST EVER U.S WINNER AT COUNTRY MUSIC MARATHON: For the first time in its 11 year history, an American has won the Country Music Marathon. Ilsa Paulson, of New York City, was the first woman to break the tape on the 26.2-mile course with a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes and 41 seconds. Ilsa Paulson became the first American winner in the events 11-year history. Paulson had previously been scheduled to run in Sunday’s Saint Anthony Marathon in Padua, Italy. The 2009 USA Women’s Marathon Champion changed plans after the eruption in Iceland forced flight delays and cancellations throughout Europe. “I was scheduled to run Los Angeles but I got sick, and then Italy, but I couldn’t travel with the volcano, so I guess the third time was the charm,” said Paulson. “I just enjoy running, so as long as I’m physically able to get out the door, then I view it as a wonderful blessing and opportunity.” The men’s champion, 31-year-old William Najanjo of Colombia, was neck and neck with countryman Juan Carlos Cardona until the last leg of the race, when he sprinted ahead to victory with a time of 2:15:38. Westly Keating of Edinburg, TX was the top American, finishing sixth overall in 2:20:46. “This year, I run very fast. It’s my second experience here,” said Najanjo, who finished fifth at the Nashville race last year. “I won, and I am very happy.” The first male and female Tennessean finishers were Nashville's John Ramsay and Jillian Mastroianni, clocking 2:51:14 and 3:00:58, good for 13th and 3rd place respectively.

The women’s half marathon winner Sharon Thompson of Franklin, TN was in a bathroom and caught off-guard by the race’s early start. Despite the delay, she won with a time of 1:15:45 in her debut half marathon, a new course record. “I didn’t have time to warm up and just kind of saw the crowd leave, and I was supposed to be in that crowd,” said Thompson, a two-time Olympic trials qualifier for 10,000m. “I hopped over two fences and just started running really fast to catch up with the group. So I probably went out too hard.” Josh Cox, the 50k American Record Holder, won the men’s half marathon in 1:06:46. The first Tennessean male finisher was Nashville's Ryan Snellen who place 5th in a time of 1:12:25. [searchable results]

04.23.10: WRIGHT HELPS LADY VOLS TO 4 x 1500 TITLE AT PENN RELAYS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright ran an impressive 4:17.3 anchor leg for the University of Tennessee quartet that won the women's 4 x 1500m relay at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia,PA. Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock clocked a 3:00.3 1200-meter leg t o lead off for the UT quartet that placed 6th in the men's Distance Medley Relay, while Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough clocked a 3:59.7 anchor for the Georgetown team that placed 3rd, less than a second behind winners Oregon. Johnson City's Michael Mansy ran very well in the boys' 3000m to place 9th in 8:28.96 in a race on by Jamaican schoolboy Kemoy Campbell in 8:20.14. [live results]

04.22.10: WRIGHT, KEVEREN HAVE FINE RUNS AT PENN RELAYS : Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright and Brentwood's Sean Keveren provided the high points among the Tennesseans on the first night of distance action at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia,PA. Wright, a senior at UT, clocked a 2:02.28 800-meter leg on the Lady Vol Distance Medley Relay quartet that crushed the opposition with a 10:54.65 clocking. Keveren, a redshirt freshman at Virginia, place 2nd in the men's 'Olympic Devel opment' 5000m, clocking 14:10.00 to slice over four seconds from his PR. Memphis' Nate Edelman, a junior at Cornell, also ran well in his 5000m heat, clockin 14:24.58. [live results]

04.19.10: WINTER, HUFF FIRST TENNESSEAN FINISHERS AT BOSTON MARATHON: Jackson's Chris Winter and Kris Huff of Cordova were the first male and female Tennseeans to finish the Boston Marathon. Winter, 27, clocked 2:39:52, while Huff, 46, clocked 3:08:11 to place 4th in her age division. The first male master from Tennessee was 47-year-old Martin Nagy of Clarksville, who clocked 2:43:36 to place 10th in his age division, while 50-year old Hugh Enicks of Signal Mountain ran a very impressive 2:46:17 to place 6th 50-54. Up front, the overall male and female champions were Kenya's Robert Cheruiyot and Ethiopia's Teybo Erkesso, clocking 2:05:52 (a course record) and 2:26:11 respectively and each pocketing $150,000. The first U.S finishers were Ryan Hall in 4th place, clocking 2:08:41 (the fastest ever by an American at Boston), and Paige Higgins in 13th, clocking 2:36:00. [searchable results]

04.17.10: RAINEY-McKELVEY DUEL HIGHLIGHTS DISTANCE ACTION AT VOL CLASSIC: The boys' Mile provided what was probably the highlight of the distance action at the 47th Volunteer Classic High School Meet held at UT's Tom Black track in Knoxville. UT signee Jake Rainey, a senior a Rossview High, and Clint McKelvey, a Duke-bound Maryville High senior waged battled with Isaac Presson of Asheville HS (NC). In the end, it was Presson who prevailed, clocking 4:14.01, with Rainey (4:15.34) just edging McKelvey (4:15.63) for second. In the boys' 2 miles, Ryan Eaton of Greenwood HS (KY) was a class apart, winning in 9:17.81, but plaind second Bearden senior Tyler Freeman shattered his PR with a 9:30.21 clocking. The girls' 800 saw West High's Patavia Lowery clock an impressive 2:15.43 to place 3rd behind Blacksburg's Hannah Brown (2:13.08) and Knoxville Catholic junior Joanna Thompson ran well to place 3rd in the 2 miles, clocking 11:03.24. [results]

04.17.10: JORGENSEN NOTCHES SECOND PR IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS ON DAY 2 OF VANDY INVITE: Memphis' Rita Jorgensen notched her second PR in the space of 18 hours on day 2 of the Vanderbilt Invitational. The Vanderbilt junior, who prepped at White Staton High School, placed 2nd in the women's 800m, behind MTSU's Zamzam Sangau, clocking a very impressive 2:07.66. Nashville's Melissa Begin bounced back from a fine 5000 the previous night to win the 3000m in 10:07.15. [results]

04.17.10: THOMPSON RETURNS TO COMPETITION WITH VERY IMPRESSIVE 5K: Former Lady Vol distance stand-out, Sharon Thompson (née Dickie), who moved to Franklin two years ago, toed the line in her first race since 2007 and after gicing birth to her second child and ran a jaw-dropping 16:58 at the Run for Rotary 5K in Brentwood, very nearly beating the first male finisher, Joe White of Cuyahoga Falls,OH (16:54). Thompson, 30, who has a 5000m best of 15:33 on the track and has pencilled in a marathon debut at Chicaho in October, averaged 5:29 per mile over the USATF-certified course to top the state rankings so far this year. First masters finishers were Brentwood's Dan Carmody, 40, and Michiko Gaittens, 48, clocking 19:01 and 25:38 respectively.

In the accompanying 10K race, Nashville's Chad Blackburn and Franklin's Mary Snipes, 52, were the overall male and female winners, clocking 42:19 ad 45:07. Brett Brennan 40, of Nashville was the first male master home, clocking 44:21. [results: 5K | 10K]

04.16.10: DAHL, JORGENSEN CLASS OF VANDERBILT INVITE DAY 1: Johnson City 's Heidi Dahl and Memphis' Rita Jorgensen provided the finest distance running performances of the evening on Day 1 of the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville. Dahl, who placed 7th in the 1500 at the 2009 U.S Championships, used this meet as her season opener and was content to run 70-second quarters. Jorgensen, a Vanderbilt junior, ran in the ETSU grad's slipstream until Dahl pulled away decisively in the last 200 meters to win in 4:21.27, while Jorgensen was rewarded with a PR of 4:22.77. In the women's 3000m steeplechase, Nashville's Jessica Schmidt clocked 10:53.05 to win with Johnson City's Allie Scalf (a Vanderbilt frosh) making a promising debut clocking of 11:01.43 in second. [results]

04.16.10:BUMBALOUGH BOUNCES BACK WITH 13:49 5K AT MT SAC: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough signalled a return to good health, after being diagnosed with mononucleosis during the winter, with an impressive season opener in the men's 5000m at the Mt SAC Relays in Walnut,CA. The Georgetown 5th year senior placed 10th in his heat clocking 13:49.00, a time that should see him comfoartbly qualify for the the 1st round of the NCAA Championships at the end of May. [results]

04.15.10: KEVEREN MAKES 10,000 DEBUT AT ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Brentwood's Sean Keveren made his 25-lap debut a the ACC Championshps in Clemson,SC. The Virginia freshman, who has been hampered with injuries and unable to do much in the way of speedwork, was entered in the men's 10,000m by Coach Jason Vigilante. Keveren, though,m was unable to get close to the goal of 30:00 he set for himself, clocking 30:54.777 to place 14th in a race won by NC State frosh Ryan Hill in 29:32.28. [results]

04.15.10: ABTAHI CLOCKS 29:47 10,000 AT MT. SAC RELAYS: Tennesseans had a good showing on the first night of distance action at the Mt SAC Relays in Walnut,CA. Nashville's Bejan Abtahi, a prodict of Father Ryan who is now a senior at Georgia, clocked 29:47.04 to place 10th in his heat of the men's 10,000m. [results]

04.13.10: HALF-MILERS IMPRESS AT GREAT 8 INVITATIONAL: It was the 800-meter specialists that impressed most mong the distance action at the Great 8 High School Invitational in Nashville. On what was a perfect night at Vanderbilt's newly resurfaced track, Brentwood High senior Ford Bell, who clocked 1:52.41 over 2 laps at the Arcadia Invite just three days earlier, stepped up to 1600m and despite having no real competition, attacked former teammate Sean Keveren's meet record of 4:18.54. Running a well-paced race and looking very relaxed throughout, Bell hacked over two seconds off Keveren's mark to clock 4:15.84. In the boys' 800m, Antioch High sophomore Quamel Prince ran very aggressively (54.5 thru' 800, 1:22.5 thru' 600), leading from the gun and hung on for a massive PR of 1:53.90, leading a great battle for 2nd (between Prince's AAU training partners Gehrig Nelson and Jamil Jackson) and a slew of PRs behind him. The boys' 3200 was won easily by Rossview's Colin Johnson, who was content to sit on Brentwood's Paul Stewart, until the last 800, before powering away to win by almost 100 meters in 9:30.06.

The girls' distance races produced some thrilling finishes and close battles, but no meet records were every seriously under threat. The most impressive run was by relative newbie, Caroline Hawkins, in the 800. Coming into the meet with a seed time of just 2:29, the Harpeth Hall sophomore blasted a 61.8 opening circuit taking Oteia Prince (Quamel's sister) with her as the rest of the field trailed 7 seconds behind. Prince remained in Hawkins' slipstream all the way until 700 meters, as both runners began tto pay the price for the early pace, but Hawkins was the stronger down the home stretch and won by 5 meters in 2:17.74. Ensworth's Sarah Delozier looked impressive in winning both the 1600 and 3200, clocking 5:11.92 and 11:26.12. [results]

04.10.10: THREE TENNESSEANS GO SUB-9 AT ARCADIA INVITATIONAL:Tennessee had by far its finest ever showing at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational High School Meet in Arcadia,CA. Not long after Brentwood High senior Ford Bell clocked a very impressive 1:52.72 PR to place 4th in the boys' 800m, a trio of Tennessee boys cracked 9 minutes in the boys' Invitational 3200m. Georga-bound Baylor senior, Brandon Lord, led the way with an 8:55.42 clocking to place 3rd. UT-bound Rossview senior Jake Rainey placed 7th in 8:57.19, while Maryville senior, Clint McKelvey, a Duke signee, clocked 8:59.06 to place 14th. Before this race, only two Tennessee high school boys (Andrew Bumbalough and Sean Keveren) had ever broken 9 minutes for 3200, but now the state can boast five sub-9 exponents. [results | all-time rankings]

04.09.10: SORRELL CLOCKS 3:46 IN FAYETTEVILLE: Memphis' Rob Sorrell showed good early season speed at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville,AR, despite having done primarily 5000-meter training of late. The Oklahoma University junior clocked 3:46.77 to place 4th in the men's 1500m. [results]

04.09.10: FAST COURSES, GREAT WEATHER, AND FREE ICE CREAM YIELDS FAST TIMES AT PURITY DAIRY DASH 5K & 10K: Almost 1500 runners descended on Nashville's Metro Center to take advantage of the perfect running weather, fast course, and free ice cream at the Purity Moosic City Dairy Dash 5K & 10K. The male and female winners of the 5K race were Nashville's Ryan Snellen and Melissa Begin, who clocked very impressive times of 15:25 and 17:31 respectively, each winning a year's worth of free ice cream from Purity. Douglas Murphy, 44, and Victoria Crisp, 57, took the masters wins, clocking 17:51 and 20:00 respectively.

In the accompanying 10K, Alex Moore won, clocking 33:58, with the fast-improving John Ramsay not far back in a PR of 34:13. Jillian Mastroianni had little trouble outpacing the women, as she clocked 38:07. Masters titles went to Murfreesboro's David Peacock, 41, and Amy Barrow, 52, clocking times of 36:21 and 42:06. [results: 5K | 10K]

04.09.10: FAM RIPS 13:40 5000, WRIGHT SOLOS 4:15 1500 AT SEA RAY RELAYS: Knoxville's Anthony Famiglietti destroyed the field in the men's 5000m at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville. Fam clocked 13:40.73 to win by 37 seconds. An hour earlier, Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright clocked a very impressive 4:15.66 to dominate the women's 1500m . The UT senior did have some help from some well-known rabbits, but had no company on the last circuit of the Tom Black track as she came home 9 seconds clear of the field. For Wright, better known as an 800-meter runner, it was a PR and currently ranks her 4th in the U.S, collegiately, anf 1st in the SEC. [live results]

04.03.10: BELL WINS 800 AT MOBILE MEET OF CHAMPIONS: Just 24 hours after clocking a 49.68 400 on his home track at the Scott Hartman Relays, Brentwood High School senior, Ford Bell, ran impressively to win the invitational boys' 800m at the prestigious Mobile Meet of Champions in Mobile,AL. Bell conquered a strong field and gusty conditions to win in a state-leading time of 1:54.56. [results]

04.03.10: McKINNEY, CALDWELL WINNERS AT OAK BARREL HALF: The inaugural Oak Barrel Half-Marathon saw 685 runners invade the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg. First to cover the hilly course and return to the distillery was former Murray State runner, Jason McKinney,who calls Rossville,Ga home. McKinney won in 1:17:00 but was offered a stiff challenge from 51-year-old George Dewitt from Madison,AL, who clocked an impressive 1:17:11. Franklin's Catie Caldwell easily won the female overall title, clocking 1:32:06, while Sheryl Dummer of Huntsville,AL clocked 1:47:23 to claim the female masters win. [results]

04.03.10: HUDSON RETURNS HOME TO WIN MULE DAY KICK: White Bluff's David Hudson returned to his old stomping ground, Columbia, to win the Mule Day Kick 5K. The former Belmont runner, who grew up within a stone's throw of the course, outpaced Columbia's Brandon Harmon to win by 11 seconds in 17:03, while Columbia's Rebecca Severe, also 33, clocked 22:03 to outrun a lackluster women's field. Brentwood's John Lovell, 52, and Mount Pleasant's Stephanie Robinette, 40, won the masters titles, clocking 18:56 and 23:27 respectively. [results]

04.03.10: PULLE, LUMPHREY WINNERS AT RICHLAND CREEK RUN: The 4th annual RIchland Creek 4-miler in Nashville saw former Nashville road race stand-out Matt Pulle notch a victory, and saw women's victor, Tonya Lumphrey win this event for the third time, but they were two very different races. Thirty-seven year old Pulle, a 4-time winner of the Boulevard Bolt and a 2:29 marathon exponent, who now lives in Columbia,MO where he is in law school at University of Missouri, found himself in a tussle with Jacob Carrigan. Carrigan had a 5-second advantage over Pulle at the 4-mile marker, which he held until about 600 meters remained, but not only did Pulle run him down, he pased and gapped him by 11 seconds by the time the finish line was reached in 27:34. Lumphrey, on the other hand, had no serious challengers among the women and crused to an easy win in 33:18. Masters wins went to Nashville's Robbie McKay, 41, and Teresa Marchetti, 45, who clocked times of 31:37 and 36:51 respectively. [results]

04.03.10: ADAMS AND ALLEN CRUISE TO WINS AT GREENWAYS 5K: Knoxville's Bob Adams and Kingsport's Molly Allen were the overall winners at the Greenways 5K. Adams clocked 16:39 to outpace Knoxville Marathon director Jason Altman by five seconds. Allen, 39, clocked 18:32 to outace her nearest female rival, Marsha Morton, by over minutes. 51-year-old Greg Johnson clocked 17:59 to lead the male masters home, while Morton, 44, clocked 20:48 to comfortably win the female masters title. [results]

04.03.10: WRIGHT CONTINUES UNBEATEN STREAK AT PEPSI FLORIDA RELAYS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright continued her unbeaten streak at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville,FL. The Lady Vol senior, who already ranked #1 nationally in the 800 meters, produced 2010's #4 time among collegiate women in the 1500 meters on Friday, covering the distance in a career-best 4:18.29 to edge Georgia sophomore Kristie Krueger (4:18.58). In the men's 800m, Knoxville's Andrew Dawson clocked an impressive 1:49.37 to place second in his heat, while Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a UT soph, clocked 1:52.50 to slightly lower his season's best in his heat. [results | race video, flotrack.org]

03.28.10: DEBUTANT BAKSA SECOND IN KNOXVILLE MARATHON, WHILE WOLSKI NOTCHES ANOTHER WIN:Knoxville's Andy Baksa led a very strong showing by local runners in the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. The race was won by 30-year-old Kenyan Geoffrey Kiprotich, who clocked 2:15 earlier this year and calls Atlanta home. But one place behind him, and closing fast was former Farragut High and UT star Baksa who was making his marathon debut. Twenty-six year old Baksa (second from left in photo) clocked a very impressive 2:23:58 (with a 1:11:04 second half) over the very challenging course, to finish just 36 seconds adrift. "I was pumped," Baksa said post-race. "I thought 2:25 on a good day, 2:26 I'd probably be happy, and I was a shade under 2:24. I exceeded all my time expectations and I felt really good and ran real patient. I was really, really pleased with how everything went." Baksa's strategy was to run a slower pace early but be fast enough to stay in contention. "I think I was two minutes behind the leader at the half-marathon and then started making up ground and got within 30 seconds," Baksa said. "I thought I had him with about three miles to go but I just couldn't change gears enough to roll him up." Baksa earned $1000 for his runner-up finish. Also placing among the top half-dozen runners were Baksa's training partners of late, Alan Horton (3rd in 2:26:26), Stewart Ellington (5th in 2:29:33), and Andrew Press (6th in 2:31:00). Knoxville's Kathy Wolski, 44, was the first female finisher, as she wa sin 2009, clocking 3:02:11 to pick up $1500 for the win (but was not able to 'double dip'). Erica Tedford of Maryville was the runner-up, clocking 3:06:54. Steve Salazar, 52, visiting from Wisconsin, prevailed over a weak male master's field, clocking 3:12:24.

In the accompanying half-marathon, Chattanooga-based Kenyan Joseph Sitienei conquered the field and the challenging course to cruise to victory in 1:10:41, with Andy Baksa's former Farragut and UT teammate, Eric Bell, claiming 2nd in 1:12:53. Morristown's Emily Chaney was the first female overall, clocking an impressive 1:21:37. Knoxville's Keith Gemeinhart was the first male master home, clocking 1:20:45, while Valerie Bachman claimed the female masters win, clocking 1:30:35. [results]

03.27.10: McKELVEY CLOCKS SOLO 4:15 AT HARDIN VALLEY INVITATIONAL: Maryville High School senior, Cint McKelvey, put on a fine display of front running at te Hardin Valley Invitational to clock a very impressive early season mark of 4:15.47 in the boys' 1600m to win by over 100 meters. That is the fastest 4-lapper so far this season, and the Duke signee followed it up less than an hour later with a 2:00.19 800 clocing to win that event too. The class of the girls' distance racs was Knoxville Catholic junior, Joanna Thompson, who clocked 5:11.38 to edge the fast improving Diana Eddington of McMinn County by just under a second. [results]

03.27.10: UT HALF-MILERS OPEN UP AT FLORIDA STATE RELAYS WRIGHT: The UT Vols and Lady Vols headed to the Sunshine State for their outdoor season opener, competing in the FSU Relays in Tallahassee,FL. Newly-crowned NCAA Indoor 800 champ, Phoebe Wright (who hails from Signal Mountain) cruised to a 2:05.98 clocking to win easily and remains unbeaten so far in 2010.Wright's winning run was swiftly followed by Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a sophomore 2-lapper, clocking 1:52.55 to win his heat of the men's 800. Later in the meet, Wright came back to anchor the Lady Vols' 4 x 4 team that narrowly lost to Atlantic Sun powerhouse, Jacksonville, while Peacock went up and down in distance, clocking a 3:55.11 1500 and then running a 4 x 400 leg for one of two UT teams. Former Vol star, Andrew Dawson, a 1:48 800 exponent, opened his season with a 5th place showing in he 1500, clocking 3:53.34. [results]

03.27.10: ADLER, MASTROIANNI BEAT THE BLUES WITH WINS IN CENTENNIAL PARK: Warren Adler and Jill Mastroianni were the overall male and female winners of the Runnin' to Beat The Blues 5K, held in Nashville's Centennial Park. Adler, 29, clocked an impressive solo 16:06 to win by almost two minutes, while Mastroianni, 28,clocked 18:27 to plave an impressive fifth overall, two minutes clear of runner-up, Noell Stump. The masters wins went to Brentwood's John Lovell, 52, and 46-year-old Susan Lang of Spring Hill, who clocked 18:41 and 22:50 respectively. In the accompanying mile, Adler outkicked 19-year-old Joe White to win in 4:48, while Greenbrier's Joni McGonigle was the first female finisher, clocking 7:33. [results: 5K | 1 mile]

03.26.10: SORRELL CLOCKS 13:54 5000 AT STANFORD INVITATIONAL: Memphis' Rob Sorrell has carried over his great recent form to the outdoor oval and clocked a new 5000-meter PR of 13:54.69 at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto,CA. Sorrell, a junior at Oklahoma, placed 11th in his heat, won in convincing fashion by Northern Arizona's David McNeill in 13:35.63. [results | race video, www.flotrack.org]

03.26.10: MANSY CLOCKS STATE-LEADING 9:11 DEUCE AT RALEIGH RELAYS: Science Hill High School senior Michael Mansy got a taste of racing on his future home track while competing in the boys' 3200m at the Adidas Raleigh Relays in Raleigh,NC, hosted by North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack signee showed that he has wintered well, clocking a 9:11.40 PR to place 4th in what was a very deep boys' 8-lapper (17 boys went under 9:30, with 9 going sub-9:20) won by Asheville's Isaac Presson in an eye-opening 9:00.87. Mansy's time trumped a solo 9:13 clocking by Rossview's Jake Rainey to lead the state outdoor rankings so far this season. [results]

03.21.10: NAKLUSKI AND CHEROBON WINNERS AT GERMANTOWN HALF-MARATHON: Canadian Derek Nakluski and Georgia-based Kenyan Janet Cherobon were the overall male and female winners at the Germantown Half-Marathon. Nakluski clocked 1:07:00 to finish 72 seconds up on second placed Sammy Rotich of Kenya. Cherobon, a former NCAA Div.II star while at Harding University who now lives just north of Atlanta, clocked a very impressive course record breaking time of 1:14:12 to finish 6th overall and a whopping 10 minutes clear of the next woman. Nakluski and Cherobon each received a $500 check for their efforts. The masters wins went to local runners, Michael Scot, 48, of Collierville and Germantown's Kelly Didato, 43. Their times were 1:20:55 and 1:39:55 and they each pocketed $300 for their morning's work. [results]

03.21.10: FAM CLOCKS 63:18 DEBUT HALF IN NEW YORK CITY: In what was one of the best half-marathon fields ever assembled in the United States, Knoxville's Anthony Famiglietti found that an impressive 1:03:18 clocking wasn't even enough to crack the top ten. Running the first half-marathon of his career, Fam, 31, averaged 4:50 per mile over the course that took in Central Park before heading downtown (and downhill), via Times Square, to Battery Park. The race was won by unheralded Kenyan, Peter Kamais, who clocked a sizzling 59:53 (4:35 pace). Fam, who is eyeing a fall marathon (probably New York City) clocked 14:35, 29:07, 43:59, and 1:00:16 for his 5K, 10K, 15K, and 20K splits en route to an 11th place finish that earned him $300. Fam seemed upbeat efter the race. "To finish in 1:03, the way I felt early on in the race, I'm happy with that," he said in an interview with Flotrack. "I think this is a big step in the right direction." Kamais, who pulled away before the 10K marker, pocketed $20,000 for his morning's work. [results | post-race interview, flotrack.org]

03.14.10: BELL 9TH IN 800 AT NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS: Brentwood's Ford Bell ran impressively to place 9th overall to clock 1:54.38 in the boys' 800m at the Nike Indoor Nationals high school meet in Boston,MA. It was an indoor PR for the Brentwood High senior. [results]

03.14.10: BOWMAN 9TH AT WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman placed 9th in the women's 1500m final at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. The 23-year-old former UT star clocked an indoor PR of 4:10.72 in a race won by Kalkidan Gezahegne of Ethiopia in 4:08.14. The other U.S entrant, Erin Donohue placed 6th, clocking 4:09.59. [results | race video]

03.13.10: WRIGHT WINS 800 AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright (right) crushed the field in the women's 800m final at the NCAA Div.I Indoor Championships in Fayetteville,AR. The UT senior, who was the pre-race favorite, led from the gun, splitting 59.8 at halfway and fighting off a strong challenge from 2009 champion, Lacey Cramer of BYU, on the last lap to win in 2:02.55. This was the first individual NCAA track championship for Wright, who was favored to win in 2009 but came down with a respiratory infection just before the meet and placed 2nd. "This year was about redemption and I worked hard for that,’’ said Wright, in an interview with the chattanoogan.com. Wright became the third Lady Vol to win this event indoors; the others were Nicole Cook in 2004 and Joetta Clark in 1983. Team-wise, the University of Tennessee women took national runner-up honors with 36 points behind champion Oregon with 61 points. [live results | post-race interview, flotrack.org]

03.13.10: McKELVEY 3RD IN 2-MILE AT NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS: Maryville's Clint McKelvey ran a very impressive race to place 3rd in the boys' 2 miles at the Nike Indoor Nationals high school meet in Boston,MA. The Maryville High senior, who will attend Duke in the fall, clocked 9:06.59 in a race won by New Jersey's Jim Rosa in 9:00.36. [results]

03.13.10: FOREIGN SWEEP AT TOM KING HALF-MARATHON: Kenya and Russia provided the overall male and female winners at the Tom King Classic Half-Marathon in Nashville, courtesy of Geoffrey Kiprotich and Liliya Yadzak.Kiprotich, 31, who lives in Georgia, clocked 1:09:05, while 39-year-old Yadak, who resides in Kentucky, clocked 1:18:09. Each picked up $500 for their morning's work. But Tennesseans claimed both runner-up spots, courtesy of Knoxville's Stewart Ellington and Nashville's Melissa Begin. Ellington clocked 1:09:46, while Begin clocked 1:20:23. Masters honors went to Brentwood's Eric Legros and Murfreesboro's Theresa Saupé, who clocked times of 1:16:15 and 1:29:11 respectively.

In the 5K held beforehand, Chris Platt of Madison,AL kicked away from Nashville's Ted Towse in the last quarter-mile to win by two seconds in 15:53, while 14-year-old Elizabeth Scott of Brentwood clocked 19:59 to lead the women home. Murfreesboro's Phil Young and Brentwood's Rebecca Mason were the first male and female masters finishers, clocking times of 17:44 and 22:26. [results: half-marathon | 5K]

03.12.10: WRIGHT CRUISES THROUGH 800 PRELIMS AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright easily qualified for tomorrow's women's 800m final at the NCAA Div.I Indoor Championships in Fayetteville,AR. The UT senior won her heat in 2:04.55 to post the fastest qualifying time of the day. A few hours later, Wright was on relay duty for the Lady Vols. In a dramatic Distance Medley Relay that saw Tennessee edge Oregon for the win by half a second, Wright split an impressive 3:22.2 1200 lead-off leg (the results list Chanelle Price on the 1200 leg) to grab the lead, but it was teammate, New Yorker Brittany Sheffey, who ran the race of her career so far to hold off a hard-charging Jordan Hasay of Oregon on the anchor leg and split 4:35.98 to see Tennessee win their thrird straight DMR at Nationals. At the end of Day 1, UT's women are in second place in the team standings with 16 points, behind Auburn'sd 18-point tally.

In the men's 800m, the only other Tennessean distance runner in action, James Gilreath, ran disappointingly. The Baylor junior, who prepped at Bartlett High School, could only manage a 1:52.18 clocking and only placed 5th in his qualifying heat. [live results & schedule]

03.12.10: BOWMAN ADVANCES TO 1500 FINAL AT WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman handled herself very well in her first major championship, qualifying for Sunday's women's 1500m final at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. Bowman, who was gapped by the leaders and running back in fifth with just over three laps to go, fought back and gradually returned to contention for a top-three finish at the bell. Timing her finish nicely, she managed to reel in Frenchwoman Fanjanteino Felix and Briton Helen Clitheroe over the final 100 meters to finish third in 4:12.91, reach her first major final, and certainly make the lengthy trip to Doha pay off. Bowman (right), a former indoor NCAA for the University of Tennessee, only managed 4th place at last month's US championships. Her heat was won by defending World Indoor champ, Ethiopia's Gelete Burka, who led from gun to tape, clocking 4:12.08. [results]

03.06.10: GILREATH CLOCKS 1:48.00 800, QUALIFIES FORCAAs AT ALEX WILSON INVITATIONAL: Bartlett's James Gilreath, who only a week earlier picked up his first Big 12 conference title, continued his fine indoor form up in South Bend,IN at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame. The Baylor University junior, who still holds the Tennessee State high school record at 800 meters, won his heat in a PR-shattering 1:48.00, which is, to the hundredth, the NCAA automatic qualifying standard, and also the Tennessee State indoor record. It also ranks him #9 in the nation among collegiate runners. [results | race video, flotrack.org]

03.06.10: SCENIC CITY HALF: Kenneith Brooks of Portage,MI and Gina Krabbendem of Lookout Mountain were the overall male and female winners at the Scenic City Half-Marathon in Chattanooga. Brooks clocked 1:13:24 to finish a kilometer clear of runner-up, Geno Phillips of Chattanooga (1:16:57). Krabbendam, 37, was a similar margin clear of fellow Lookout Mountain resident and women's runner-up, Debbie Vannoy, the former cross-country coach coach at Covenant College. The masters titles went to Signal Mountain's Hugh Enicks and debbie Vannoy's sister-in-law, Liza Vannoy, who lives in Rising Fawn,GA. Enicks, fifth overall, clocked a very impressive 1:18:11 to hack eleven seconds off the state 50-54 record set by Nashville's Mark Carver seven weeks ago in Arizona, while Vannoy clocked1:35:41. [results]

03.06.10: HORTON CLOCKS 31:16 AT REEDY RIVER RUN 10K: Knoxville's Alan Horton showed that a few sleepless nights haven't put a dent in his armor with a fine run at the Reedy River Run 10K in Greeneville,SC. Horton, 29, whose wife, Michelle. gave birth to ther first chils just last week, mixed it up with the sthat ranks as the second fastest indoor mark ever recorded by a collegiate woman. Only UT's Nicole Cook (2:00.75), who set the collegiate record in winning the SEC title in this venue in 2005, has run faster.emi-pro runners of Zap Fitness to place 6th overall in 31:16, as David Jankowski led a sweep of the top three places with a 30:27 victory. [results]

03.06.10: PAQUETTE AND ELLINGTON DUEL AT BE GREAT 8K: The inaugural ClubBlue Be Great 8K in Knoxville, with only 89 finishers, didn't draw a large field, but it did provide some quality running up front, courtesy of Runner's Market teammates, Max Paquette and Stewart Ellington. Paquette, 25, a Canadian who is pursuing his PhD at UT, ran with Ellington, 35, for the entire race before kicking clear in the closing stages to win by two seconds in 25:22. Karen Lacey was the female overall winner, clocking 38:18. Male and female masters winners were Seymour's Jim Flanagan and Maryville's Becky Morgan, with times of 36:43 and 40:13. [results]

03.06.10: FANNING, SAUPÉ WINNERS AT FAL CREEK THAW 15K: Lebanon's Scott Fanning and Murfreesboro's 47-year-old Theresa Saupé were the overall winners at the Fall Creek Thaw 15K, held at Fall Creek Falls State Park. The race, the last stop on the 2009-2010 Tennessee State Parks Running Tour, saw 39-year-old Fanning go unchallenged, his 54:16 clocking three minutes clear of the next runner. Saupé's 1:02:41 clocking saw her two minutes clear od McKenzie's Kristen Sass, the female runner-up. Springfield's Keith Woodall, 47, was the first male master home, clocking 59:47. [results (PDF)]

02.28.10: BOWMAN 4TH, MOSER 5TH IN 1500 AT U.S INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman and Treniere Moser ran well at the U.S Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque,NM. Despite the 5300 feet elevation, Bowman and Moser, former training partners, clocked 4:22.28 and 4:22.81 to place 4th and 5th respectively. Morgan Uceny the suprise winner in 4:19.46, finished just two hundredths of a second in front of pre-race favorite, Shannon Rowbury. Tennessee's only other distance runner at the meet, Knoxville's Victoria Martinez, was eliminated in the women's 800m prelims the previous day, clocking 2:08.80. [results]

02.28.10: EDELMAN 5TH IN 3000 AND 5000 AT HEPS: Memphis' Nate Edelman did not have the knd of Heptagonal (Ivy League) Champmpionship meet he would have liked, but he did help his Cornell team to a runner-up team finish. The junior, who prepped at White Station High School, placed 6th in the men's 3000m clocking 8:38.38 as Columbia's Kyle Merber won in 8:32.30. The next day, he was 5th in the men's 5000m in 14:30.84 as Brown's Duriel Hardy won in 14:21.28. Princeton won the team competition with 181 points, with Cornell 2nd wiht 149 points. [results]

02.28.10: WRIGHT CLOCKS INDOOR PR OF 2:01.47 TO DOMINATE 800 AT SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright crushed the field in the women's 800m at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville,AR. The UT senior clocked an NCAA-leading 2:01.47 to set an indoor PR and finish well clear of runner-up, fellow Lady Vol Chanelle Price (2:03.12). Wright's timeranks as the second fastest indoor mark ever recorded by a collegiate woman. Only UT's Nicole Cook (2:00.75), who set the collegiate record in winning the SEC title at this venue in 2005, has run faster.

Emerson Peacock, after clocking a season's best of 1:51.57 in the prelims the previous day, had a very disappointing run in the mens 800m final, placing 9th in 1:56.16 as LSU's Richard White cruised home to win in 1:47.78. Knoxville's Matt Sonnenfeldt, a Kentucky frosh, had an impressive showing in his first SEC track meet, placing 11th in the men's 5000m, clocking 14:32.67.

After running a season's best of 4:50.48 in the prelims the previous day, Memphis' Rita Jorgensen, a Vanderbilt junior, struggled in the women's 1 mile final, placing 9th in the 10-woman field in 4:58.48 as Florida's Charlotte Browning crushed the field, clocking 4:37.29 to win by over six seconds. Jorgensen came back to lead off (3:35.1 split) the Vanderbilt team that placed 6th in the women's Distance Medley Relay, but it was Wright who impressed again in that race, splitting 3:29.5 to provide Tennessee a lead they would not relinquish, as they cruised home to win in a meet record 11:14.59. For good measure, Wright clocked 53.9 to help the Lady Vols to 6th place in the 4 x 400m relay.

In the final team standings, Arkansas won the men's team competition with 123 points, while Tennessee brought up the rear with a 10th place finish, garnering just 24.5 points. Florida won the women's title with 110 points, with Tennessee placing 4th with 77 points and Vanderbilt once again placing last of the 12 teams with just 5 points. [results]

02.28.10: ELLINGTON, WOLSKI WINNERS AT WHITESTONE 30K: Knoxville's Stewart Ellington and Kathy Wolski were the overall winners at the 8th annual Whitestone 30K held in Kingston. Ellington led from the gun, and hit the finish line five minutes clear of the field in 1:41:10, a 5:26-per-mile clip. Behind him, 2nd and 3rd placers, Andy Baksa and Alan Horton, who used the race as a training run, clocked 1:45:20 and 1:48:08 respectively. Forty-four yea old Kathy Wolski led the women home, clocking 2:11:06 (7:02 pace) to finish three minutesclea of runner-up Erica Tedford of Maryville. Fifty-year-old Michael Carlson of Mount Vernon,KY was the class of the male masters field, clocking 1:59:51.

In the accompanying 3-person relay, Runner's Market (Ethan Coffey, Michael Mentz, and Max Paquette) had little trouble winning the men's race, clocking a speedy 1:39:22 (5:20 pace), but the Foot RX/EBS trio of Andee Cranford, Marsha Morton, and Tracy Brooks won the women's relay by a similar margin, clocking 2:11:05. [results]

02.27.10: GILREATH WINS BIG 12 800 TITLE: Johnson C Bartlett's James Gilreath ran the race of his life so far to win the men's 800m at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames,IA. Gilreath, a junior at Baylor University, clocked a PR of 1:49.21 to finish almost a full second clear of runner-up, teammate Gavyn Nero. Gilreath's time qualifies him provisionally for the NCAA Championships in two weeks' time, and shaves seven tenths of a second off his previous PR of 1:49.98 he set as a high school senior. Gilreath was also part (running the 800m leg) of the quartet that won the Distance Medley Relay in an impressive 9:41.88. In the men's 3000m, Memphis' Rob Sorrell, a senior at Oklahoma, had a solid run to place 4th in 8:09.93 as Oklahoma State's Colby Lowe won comfortably in 8:03.11. Sorrell's points helped Oklahoma win the team title with 114 points, four clear of runners-up Nebraska, while Baylor placed 4th with 80 points. [results]

02.27.10: PRESS AND ALLEN DOMINATE SURGOINSVILLE 10-MILER: Johnson City's Andrew Press and Kingsport's Molly Allen were a class apart at a chilly Surgoinsville 10-miler. Despite a windchill of around 25 degrees and having absolutely no company after a quarter-mile, Press, a medical student at ETSU who is training for the Knoxville Marathon next month, hammered out 5:24 pace over the challenging course to shatter the coursr record with a 53:56 clocking. Allen, 39, also ran very impressively, clocking 1:03:03 to beat all but the top four men and set a women's course record. Mark Timbs, 36, of Elizabethton, and 58-year-old Wanda Burnette of Mills River,NC claimed masters wins in times of 1:06:38 and 1:17:12 respectively. [results]

02.27.10: RACE JUDICATA: Some 485 runners tackled the hills of Percy Warner Park to compete in Nashville's Race Judicata 10K and 5K runs. In the 10K, Alex Moore cruised to an easy victory, clocking 36:06, some 36 seconds clear of John Ramsay, while Jillian Mastroianni outran the women's field by over a minute to clock 39:39. Douglas Murphy and :Ladona Lawson led the masters fields clocking 39:10 and 48:56 respectively.

The 5K race was a much closer affair. Only six seconds separated the top three men, with Nashville's Ryan Snellen prevailing in 16:13, judst four seconds up in Vanderbilt trackster, Thomas Davis. Lena Josifi was the overall female winner, clocking 20:42, 25 seconds ahead of runner-up Kim Bauer. Forty-seven year old Timothy O'Leary of Antioch, who had placed a close second master in the 10K not long before, clocked 18:36 to claim the male masters win, while Susan Lang's 24:05 clocking saw her secure the female masters win. [results: 10K | 5K]

02.26.10: BEAN PULLS OFF IMPRESSIVE DOUBLE AT SOCON MEET: Soddy Daisy's Cameron Bean (right) pulled off a very impressive double at the Southern Conference Championships held in Clemson,SC. The Samford 5th year senior won the men's 3000m in 8:15.74, with Brentwood's Tom Divinnie claiming third for Davidson College in a PR 8:20.39. The next day, in the men's 5000m, Bean led a Tennessean sweep of the medals as he held on to win in 14:29.12, just ahead of UT-Chattanooga soph, Chris Berry, who hails from Murfreesboro. Berry clocked 14:30.20 with Divinnie nabbing his 6th PR in the space of four weeks with a 14:36.29 clocking for third. Chattanooga's men placed 7th (of 9) with 18 points in the overall team competition as Applachian State won with 209 points, while the Lady Mocs placed 7th with 25 points in their 10-team competition, as Western Carolina won easily with 174.5 points. [results]

02.20.10: McKELVEY WINS DEUCE AT UK INDOOR INVITATIONAL: Maryville High School senior, Clint McKelvey, showed a very competitive field a clean pair of heels to win the boys' 2 miles at the UK Invitational in Lexington,KY. After a n unusually (for this meet) sluggish opening mile (4:46), the Duke signee easily covered the move when the pace picked up with 1000 remaining, and clocked 2:10 for the last 800 meters to win comfortably in 9:23.14. In the girls' 2 miles, Knoxville's Joanna Thompson clocked a PR in placing 6th. The Knoxville Catholic junior clocked 11:15.35. [results]

02.20.10: MOSER CLOCKS 2:05 800 AT VIRGINIA TECH: Knoxville's Treniere Moser clocked 2:05.09 to comfortably win the women's 800m at the Virginia Tech Challenge in Blacksburg,VA, and also qualify to run that event in the U.S Indoor Championships in Albuquerque,NM next weekend. [results]

02.13.10: WRIGHT CLOCKS NCAA-LEADING 2:02.84 800 IN TEXAS: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright had a stellar run at the Texas A&M Challenge, which saw several schools from the Big 12, Conference USA, and the SEC wage battle. Well out in front from the gun, the UT senior split a very fast 58.6 through 400 meters and eventually clocked 2:02.84 to win her women's 800m race by a long margin; not only qualifying automatically for the NCAA Indoor Championships next month, but also topping this year's NCAA rankings so far with almost two seconds to spare. Wright is the only Tennessean distance runner thus far to guarantee a spot at Nationals. [results | race video & post-race interview, flotrack.org]

02.13.10: HERREN AND MURRAY COMFORTABLE VICTORS AT FROSTBITE HALF-MARATHON: Nashville's Chris Herren and Franklin's Rebecca Murray each posted convincing victories at the Frostbite Half-Marathon, held at Cedars of Lebanon State Park. The race, the 17th stop on the 2009-2010 Tennessee State Parks Running Tour, saw 26-year-old Herren clock 1:11:44 to finish a mile clear of runner-up, 39-year-old Bill Fanning of Lebanon. Murray's winning margin was a good deal narrower, but her 1:29:19 clocking saw her finish well ahead of runner-up and top master, Maureen Manning, who clocked 1:31:10, while Manning's husband, Eric Legros claimed the male masters win in 1:20:57, good for 3rd overall. [results]

02.13.10: SORRELL BLAZES 7:57 3000 AT HUSKY CLASSIC: Memphis' Rob Sorrell shattered his 3000m PR with a sizzling 7:57.47 clocking on Day 2 of the Husky Classic in Seattle,WA. In a race that saw Northern Arizona's David McNeill establish a facility record and NCAA-leading time of 7:47.52, and an incredible 21 runners go under 8 minutes, Sorrellhung with the searing pace long enough to earn an NCAA Championship provisionalqualifying time and getclose to the automatic standard. Sorrell ’s time ranks second in the Big 12 this season and broke the previous OU record of 8:01.76 set by Kevin Williams just 10 minutes before. Williams time broke the previous OU record of 8:03.43 set by Jason Larabee in 1998. [results | race video, flotrack.org]

02.13.10: HUDSON, BEGIN WINNERS AT CUPID'S CHASE 5K: Although less than thrilled to cover an extra 140 meters or so, David Hudson and Melissa Begin were happy to come away with overall wins at the Cupid's Chase 5K held in Nashville's Shelby Park. Hudson, 33, of White Bluff, held off Jacob Carrigan to win in 17:19, while Begin clocked a very impressive 18:01 (probably worth sub-17:30) to finish over a quarter-mile clear of female runner-up, Sarah Bourne. Englishman Andy Moss, 40, and 54-year-old Pam Iyer claimed the masters victories, clocking 18:39 and 22:46 repsectively. [results]

02.13.10: BAKSA SCORCHES STRAWBERRY PLAINS 10K: Knoxville's Andy Baksa crushed the field and shattered the course record at the Strawberry Plains 10K, clocking 30:44. The former Farragut High and UT stand-out averaged 4:57-per-mile and beat regular weekend training partner and runner-up, Alan Horton, by 18 seconds. Both established 10K road PRs. Stewart Elllington also ran impressivcely in 3rd place, clocking 31:35. Meanwhile, Knoxville's Emily Mack led the women home, clocking 39:01, 37 seconds up on Harrogate's Tracy Brooks. Chattanooga's Tim Ensign, 47, and 34:28 Knoxville's Sarah Starling, aged 40, won masters honors clocking 34:29 and 44:45 respectively.

In what was, by comparison, a race with less quality up front, the accompanying Half-marathon yielded some impressive running from the women, with three females among the overall top 10 finishers. The race was won by Tennessee Tech runner, Peter Woerner, who hails from Knoxville. He clocked1:15:03 to win by over five minutes, while Kingsport's Molly Allen, 39, clocked an eye-opening 1:23:11 in a rare outing over this kind of distance. Allen won by four minutes as four women cracked 1:30. Knoxville's Nick Lavrick and Maryville's Leslee Hege claimed the masters wins, clocking 1:27:51 and 1:37:56 respectively. [results: 10K | half-marathon]

02.12.10: SONNENFELDT CLOCKS 14:32 IN INDOOR 5000 DEBUT: Knoxville's Matt Sonnenfeldt mad e a very impressive debut over 5000 meters indoors on Day 1 of the Husky Classic in Seattle,WA. The University of Kentucky freshman placed 4th in his heat to clock 14:32.37, a UK freshman indoor record. [results]

02.12.10: MARTINEZ CLOCKS 2:06.29 800, QUALIFIES FOR U.S INDOOR CHAMPS: Knoxville's Victoria Martinez traveled all the way up to Michigan to compete at the GVSU Big Meet in Allendale, MI, and found Grand Valley State University's brand new 300-meter track to be to her liking. The former Adams State star, who moved to Tennessee last fall, clocked 2:06.79 to place a close second, to MTSU's Zamzam Sangau (2:06.11), and stamp her ticket for the U.S Indoor Championships in Albuquerque,NM in two weeks time. [results]

02.12.10: GILREATH CLOCKS 1:51.44 800 AT TYSON INVITATIONAL: Bartlett's James Gilreath had a fine run in the men's 800m at the Tyson Indoor Invitational in Fayetteville,AR to clock 1:51.44. The Baylor University junior placed 3rd in his heat, won by Tulsa's Justin Duncan in 1:50.60. Later in the meet, another Memphian, Rita Jorgensen, now a junior at Vanderbilt University, made a late debut to her indoor season and clocked 5:02.49 to place 11th in her heat of the women's Mile. [results]

02.06.10: SORRELL CLOCKS 4:05 MILE IN NEW YORK: Memphis' Rob Sorrell ran well to place 3rd in the men's Mile at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory track in New York City. The Oklahoma University junior clocked a state-leading 4:05.06 to finish just behind Soonet teammate, Jacob Boone, as Villanova's Carl McKenzie won in 4:04.33. The NCAA championships provisional qualifying time for the event is 4:03.50. Elsewhere at the meet, there were impressive runs from Cordova's Leoman Momoh, an Arkansas frosh, who clocked 1:53.30 for 800m in just his third ever indoor race, and also from Knoxville's Chris Kane, a senior at UT, who clocked an 8:30.32 PR in the men's 3000m. [results]

02.06.10: MOSER CLOCKS 2:41 KILO AT REEBOK BOSTON INDOOR GAMES: Knoxville's Trenier Moser (née Clement) tackled 5 laps of the Reggie Lewis Center track and a very competitive field in the women's 1000m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Moser, now coached by John Cook (she was coached by J.J. Clark until last fall) could only manage 5th in the six-woman field but clocked a speedy 2:41.89 as Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair edged Anna Pierce (née Willard) to win in 2:38.62. [results]

02.06.10: BOUCHER , YOUNG DOMINATE TRAIL OF TEARS 7-MILER: The Trail of Tears 7-miler, the xth stop on the Tennessee State Parks Running Tour saw 107 finishers brave the sub-zero weather, with Chattanooga's Kevin Boucher and Belinda Young of Chatsworth,GA leading the field around the rolling course in Red Clay Historic Park near Cleveland. Boucher clocked 41:28 to win comfortably with 47-year-old Keith Woodall of Springfield nabbing 2nd in 43:38. Young, 40, outclassed a meager women's field to clock 49:49. [results]

02.06.10: SNELLEN AND BEGIN CRUISE TO WINS AT FANGTASTIC 5K: Ryan Snellen and Melissa Begin romped to easy victories at the Predators Fangtastic 5K held in downtown Nashville. Snellen clocked 16:07 to finish 16 seconds clear of runner-up Benjamin Mulvaney, while Begin clocked a very impressive 17:52 to finish 8th overall and two and a half minutes clear of the next female runner. Antioch's Timothy O'Leary, 47, and 45-year-old Ladona Lawson of Franklin claimed the masters honors, clocking 17:57 and 22:57 respectively. [results]

01.30.10: DAHL SCORES SURPRISE WIN IN SCOTLAND: Johnson City's Heidi Dahl scored a shocking win in her first ever run in a Team USA uniform. The ETSU grad, now running professionally, represented the U.S in the Aviva International Match in Glasgow, Scotland and beat 2009 World Championships medallist Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain to take a notch a nice win for an otherwise unimpressive American team. Dobriskey looked to be in control but Dahl (right) was able to pull away in the last 100m for a convincing win. In a team competition where the deciding result went right to the wire, Great Britain beat the USA team 63 points to 60, with Germany, the Commonwealth Select and Sweden following on. [results]

01.30.10: BUMBALOUGH STRUGGLES IN INDOOR OPENER: Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough opened his indoor campaign at the Penn State Invitational in State College,PA. The Georgetown University 5th year senior ran in the Mile, where he tracked the rabbit through five laps of the 200m banked track before taking over the lead. Bumbalough led until 300 meters remained, but then began to struggle and was overhauled by five runners, including Binghamton University junior, Erik Van Ingen, who cracked 4 minutes for the first time, running 3:59.58. Bumbalough placed 6th, clocking 4:05.88. [results | video]

01.30.10: DIVINNIE ERASES ANOTHER SCHOOL REORD ON DAY 2 OF LIBERTY INVITATIONAL: Brentwood's Tom Divinnie set his third Davidson College indoor record in the space of 7 days in winning the men's Mile on Day 2 of the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg,VA. The former Brentwood High stand-out clocked a 4:16.30 PR in winning the race. His next meet will see a return to UNC on February 12th. [results]

01.30.10: SONNENFELDT MAKES IMPRESSIVE INDOOR COLLEGIATE DEBUT: Knoxville's Matt Sonnenfeldt, a freshman at Kentucky, had an impressive showing in his first indoor collegiate race. Running in the men's 3000m at the Rod McCravy Invitational in Lexington,KY, the former West High School star clocked 8:24.98 in placing 12th in a race wn by Florida State's Matt Leeder in 8:07.41. [results]

01.29.10: BOWMAN 4TH IN MILE AT MILLROSE GAMES: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman was in action at the 103rd annual Millrose Games in New York City. The UT grad competed in the Fred Lebow Women's Mile. After running up front for the first half of the race, the long-striding Bowman found herself struggling on the 160-meter track as those with a quicker cadence injected some pace later on. In a tight race that saw Brit, Hannah England, just hold off Sara Hall for the win in 4:31.48, Bowman was an isolated 4th in 4:34.84. In the men's race, Bernard Lagat recorded his 8th Wanamaker Mile victory, eclipsing Irish miling legend Eamon Coghlan's 7-win record. [results]

01.29.10: DIVINNIE NOTCHES SECOND SCHOOL RECORD IN AS MANY WEEKS: Just a week after eclipsing his school's indoor 3000m record with an 8:24.47 clocking at the UNC Classic in Chapel Hill,NC, Brentwood's Tom Divinnie, a junior at Davidson College, clocked 14:44.59 to win the men's 5000m and shatter the Wildcats' 5K indoor mark at the Liberty Invitational in Lynchburg,VA. The former Brentwood High stand-out has struggled with injuries throughout his career at Davidson, but is on a roll right now. [results]

01.23.10: BOWMAN IMPRESSES IN MILE AT NEW BALANCE GAMES: Knoxville's Sarah Bowman ran well to place 3rd in a very competitive women's Mile at the New Balance Games in New York City. In a race won by Erin Donohue in 4:28.92, Bowman (right), who graduated UT in the spring but remains in Knoxville to train under Coach J.J. Clark, clocked 4:32.14 (splitting 4:13.6 for 1500m en route) to place 3rd. Johnson City's Heidi Dahl, who, like Bowman, signed with New Balance in the summer, placed 11th in a time of 4:36.99. [results]

01.23.10: WRIGHT CLOCKS 2:04.00 AUTO QUALIFIER TO NOTCH WIN 800 AT HOKIE INVITATIONAL: In her first race of the season at her specialty, the 800 meters, Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright clocked an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 2:04.00 to win the women's 800m on the second day of the Hokie Invitational in Backsburg,VA. In the women's 1000m, training partners Hazel Clark and Victoria Martinez ran their second races of the meet. In a race won by recent Duke grad, Molly Lehman (in 2:44.33), Clark placed 2nd in 2:47.76 with Martinez 3rd in 2:49.46. In the men's 1000m, Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a UT sophomore, clocked 2:30.62 to place 4th in his heat. [results]

01.23.10: MOORE'S 800 WIN, SORRELL'S 3000 HIGHLIGHTS OF RAZORBACK INVITATIONAL: Once again, the lightning fast track at the Randall Tyson track at the University of Arkansas yielded some fast performances, and several Tennesseans shone at the meet. Memphis' Lee Moore, a sophomore at Ole Miss, won the men's 800m, clocking a State-leading PR of 1:52.85, while teammate Riley Young, a freshman who hails from Chattanooga (and prepped at McCallie) clocked a speedy 1:55.65 in third. Moore's wasn't the only impressive run by a Memphian; Rob Sorrell, a junior at Oklahoma, placed 7th in the men's 3000m to clock a State-leading 8:13.15. [results]

01.23.10: BEAN'S 8:26 3000 HIGHLIGHTS TENNESSEAN PERFORMANCES AT NISWONGER INVITE: In what was a somewhat lacklustre meet, distance-wise, Soddy Daisy's Cameron Bean provided the brightest moment among Tennessean distance runners competing at the Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City's Memorial Center. The Samford University senior clocked 8:26.02 in placing 4th in the men's 3000m. [results]

01.23.10: BAKSA SMASHES COURSE RECORD AT CALHOUN'S 10-MILER: Knoxville's Andy Baksa outpaced a loaded men's field at the Calhoun's 10-miler in Lenoir City to record an impressive win and eclipse former UT teammate Ben Lukowski's course record with a 51:42 clocking. Baksa, 25, and Stewart Ellington, ten years his senior, were out in front not long after the start. Ellington actually gapped Baksa at around 6 miles, but when Baksa made a move just before the 9-mile marker, it was decsive, and a 4:55 closing mile sealed the deal. Ellington clocked 52:05 (also under the old course record in second, with Patrick Gildea making it a sweep of the top three spot by UT alums with a 52:37 clocking in third.

A couple of out of town gate crashers added some spice to a comparitively weak women's field. Nashville's Jessica Schmidt was out fast and led until around 6 miles, but Kingsport's Molly Allen, 39, ran an evenly paced race that saw her run well clear by the end as Schmidt paid for her ambitious early pace. Allen clocked 1:03:54, while Schmidt placed 2nd in 1:06:13. Knoxville's Keith Gemeinhart and LaFollette's Marsha Morton won the overall male and female masters titles, clocking 1:00:09 and 1:11:24 respectively. Of special note was 51-year-old Greg Johnson's run. The Knoxville runner clocked 1:01:06 to set a new 50-54 Tennessee state record, slicing 8 seconds off Jeff Colfer's previous mark. [results]

01.22.10: CLARK'S 1:28 600 WIN HIGHLIGHTS DAY 1 OF HOKIE INVITATIONAL: Hazel Clark's emphatic victory in the women's 600m was the highlight of the Tennesseans in action on the first day of the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg,VA. The 600 is a rarely contested event and Clark, a 6-time U.S 800-meter champion, had little competition. But her 1:28.87 clocking was impressive, especially given how early it is in the season. The mark erased the previous Rector Fieldhouse record of 1:30.49 set by one of Clark's former training partners, Mary Jayne Reeves (nee Harrelson) in 2002, and is a Tennessee State Record. Among other Tennesseans in action were Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a UT sophomore, who won his heat of the men's 600m in 1:20.68.

In the women's Mile, Knoxville's Victoria Martinez placed 3rd, clocking 4:52.72 in a race won by UT senior Jackie Areson, who clocked 4:43.85. The men's 3000m saw Signal Mountain's Steve Fassino, a UT sophomore, notch a big PR, clocking 8:31.80 to place 2nd in his heat and take a notable scalp in Sean Keveren. [results]

01.17.10: CARVER CLOCKS STATE RECORD AT ROCK N ROLL ARIZONA HALF-MARATHON: Nashville's Mark Carver had an exceptional run at the P.F Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half-Marathon. The 50-year-old attorney averaged 5:59 miles over the Phoenix to Tempe course to place 2nd (of 740) in the 50-54 age group and clock 1:18:19. His mark established a new Tennessee state record for that age group, eclipsing Ignacio 'Nash' Jimenez's 2002 mark of 1:19:04. [results | state records]

01.16.10: WRIGHT LEADS TEAM CLARK SWEEP IN KENTUCKY: Signal Mountain's Phoebe Wright led a trio of J.J. Clark-coached runners to a swee of the top three spots in the women's Mile at the kentucky Invitational in Lexington,KY. Clark, a UT senior, clocked 4:43.50 to win and provisionally qualify for March's NCAA Indoor Championships. Placing second in 4:47.67 was former Adams State star Victoria Martinez, who moved to Knoxville last fall. Hazel Clark placed 3rd in 4:51.95. In the women's 3000m, recent UT grad, Sarah Bowman, placed 2nd, clocking 9:28.63, well behind an impressive run by Western Kentucky's Janet Jesang, whose 9:11.09 was an NCAA auto qualifier.

In the men's mile , Knoxville's Andrew Dawson was first across the finish line, clocking 4:11. 52, while Oak Ridge's Emerson Peacock, a UT sophomore, clocked 4:18.99. In the men's 3000m, Nashville's Bejan Abtahi scored an indoor 3000 PR, clocking 8:28.56 in 11th place. [results]

01.16.10: CLEMENT CLOCKS 4:43 MILE IN ALBUQUERQUE: Knoxville's Treniere Clement, who left J.J. Clark's group in the summer to train under John Cook, had a solid race at the Lobo Opener in Albuquerque,NM. Clement, who has been training in Albuquerque recently finished an isolated 2nd in the Women's Mile, clocking 4:43.72, as training partner Shannon Rowbury cruised to victory in 4:34.14. [results]

01.02.10: WILLIAMS, GIBSON LEAD RUNNERS HOME AT HILL 'N' DALE 8-MILER: Memphis' Jon Williams, 41, and Lydia Gibson were the overall male and female winners at the Hill 'n' Dale 8-miler, the 12th race in the Tennessee State Parks Running Tour. Williams covered the rolling course through Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in 48:23, while Gibson clocked 55:12. Cordova's Brenda Walton, 52, was the first female master home, clocking 56:28, good for second female overall. [results]

01.01.10: FAM DOMINATES NEW YEAR'S DAY 5K: As he did in 2009, Anthony Famiglietti dominated Knoxville's New Year's Day 5K. The Olympian clocked 14:19 to finish well clear of the field and establish a new course record for the fast, flat Neyland Drive layout. Stewart Ellington clocked 15:23 in 2nd, while Alan Horton edged Patrick Gildea for 3rd in 15:36. Emily Chaney, now residing in West Virginia, was the first female finisher, clocking 18:20. Keith Gemeinhart was the first male master, clocking 17:38, while Jasmine Keller just outleaned Mary Jo Schmalz of Alabama for the female masters win in 19:00. [results]

01.01.10: BEGIN IMPRESSIVE AT RESOLUTION RUN: Melissa Begin had plenty of runners for company in Nashville's Resolution Run 5K, but they were all male. Begin, 33, finished just 34 seconds behind the overall male winner, Zach Minard from Colorado (who clocked 17:31), covering the challenging downtown course in a speedy 18:05. Mark Carver, who turned 50 on race day, ran very impressively to place 3rd overall in 17:47, easily outpace the male masters, while 57-year-old Victoria Crisp clocked 20:41 to placed 2nd female overall and first master. [results]

12.12.09: FEROWICH 5TH AT FOOT LOCKER NATIONALS: Caryville's Megan Ferowich ran a superb race to place 5th in the girls' race at the Foot Locker National Cross-Country Championships in San Diego,CA. The Knoxville Catholic sophomore, who was 4th at the South Region race two weeks ago, clocked 17:31 over the hilly 5-kilometer Balboa Park layout to place first among the sophomores racing. She went in with high expectations: "It went pretty well, just like I had planned" Ferowich said post-race. "I wanted to stay with the front pack and then give everything I had left in the end. I told my coach I didn't want to place past 5th and I didn't.

In the boy's race, Hixson's Brandon Lord also had a very impressive race, placing 14th in a time of 15:40. Lord's was the best showing by a Tennessee boy at Foot Locker Nationals since Andrew Bumbalough's runner-up finish in 2004. [results]

12.12.09: BEGIN CRUISES TO SNOWFLAKE 5K WIN: Just six days afte clocking 2:53 - the fastest by a Tennessean woman in 2009 - at the Cal International Marathon, Nashville's Melissa Begin bounced right back to notch the overall female win at the Snowflake 5K held in Nashville's Shelby Park. Begin, 33, clocked an impressive 17:45 to finish over two minutes clear of the next female, 13-year-old Elizabeth Scott, and only 5 seconds adrift of overall male winner, Mike Henchen of Clarksville, who clocked 17:40. First male and female masters to finish were Kevin Delaney, 41, of Massachussetts, and Brentwood's Beth Hanson, 44, clocking 18:05 and 22:40 respectively. [results]

12.06.09: BEGIN CLOCKS 2:53 AT CAL INTERNATIONAL MARATHON: Despite far from ideal weather with a steady headwind, Nashville's Melissa Begin clocked an impressive 2:53:16 (splitting 1:24:00 for the downhill first half) at the California International Marathon in Sacramento,CA, the fastest clocking by a Tennessean woman this year. New York-based Ethiopian Bizunesh Deba was the first female finisher, clocking 2:32:17, while roommate Tesfaye Bekele was the overall male winner in 2:13:42. [results]

12.05.09: KENYAN SWEEP AT ST JUDE MEMPHIS MARATHON, BUT COURSE RECORD IN DOUBT: In deciding to participate in his first St. Jude Memphis Marathon, Jynocel Basweti noticed the time of the course record. In 2005, Kassahan Kabiso crossed the finish line in a time of 2 hours, 16 minutes and 48 seconds. "I wanted to break the course record," said Basweti, a Kenyan who resides in Sante Fe,NM. Despite his dislike for running in the cold weather, Basweti, who turned 23 last Thursday, accomplished his goal, winning Saturday's race with a time of 2:16.21.

It remains to be seen whether his record-setting performance will stand up. Following the race, it was discovered that Basweti, and the next three male finishers, inadvertently deviated from the course because of cones that remained from the Memphis Grizzlies House 5K held earlier in the morning. "As a result, the final race results are currently under review," the St. Jude Memphis Marathon race committee said in a release. Second-place finisher Teklu-Tefera Deneke, 30, a Bronx, NY-based Ethiopian, also would have broken the record (he clocked 2:16:40). Race officials now must determine whether the runners actually ran the full 26.2 miles. A decision should come in the next couple of days. For Basweti, it was his fourth marathon win and second in the last month after a win in Richmond,VA, three weeks ago. "It was good, despite the cold," Basweti said. "The people are very friendly, and there are good participants." The first Tennessean finisher was Hillary Kogo, who clocked 2:30:35 in 6th place to spearhed a great showing with four men going under 2:40. Kogo, 30, who is unusual in that he came on a college scholarship to the U.S to play soccer rather than run, recently moved to Nashville from Arkansas. Not far behind him, placing 8th overall, was Nashville's Chris Herren, who clocked 2:32:47. Kevin Brueck, 41, of Burlington,IA led the male masters in, clocking 2:48:27.

Salome Kosgei, a New York-based Kanyan, was victorious in the women's marathon, finishing with a time of 2:43:42 to make it a Kenyan sweep. Kosgei, 29, was also running in her first Memphis marathon. She finished well ahead of second-place finisher Lyudmyla Pushkina, a Eugene,OR-based Russian, who clocked 2:51:11. Kosgei credited the crowd for helping her win her second marathon. "People along the way gave me inspiration," she said. "Without them, I couldn't make it to the finish." The first Tennessean finisher was Cordova's Kris Huff, 45, who clocked 3:10:44 and also picked up the master's win.

Another first-time winner Saturday was Matthew Albertson, who decided to run his first half-marathon race. Albertson was a track and cross-country runner at both Southern Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin. But prior to Saturday, Albertson's longest race was a 10K. Encouraged by friends who had previously run in Memphis, the 28-year-old decided to give it a try. He won the race with a time of 1:13:09. Jackson's Chris Winter was just 17 seconds back, clocking 1:13:29 in second place.

Caroline Blatti, a 35-year-old teacher at Hutchinson High School, was running in her second Memphis half, having placed 2nd overall in 2008. This time around, the former Princeton runner found herself with a lot more support as friends and students lined the course. Blatti, who moved to Memphis a year and half ago, finished with a time of 1:25:15. "This year, doing it for the second time was fun because I knew more people and a lot of people were cheering my name, a lot of 'Go girl,' and that sort of thing," Blatti said. "It was fun." The first masters finishers were Jeff Haushalter, 42, a former Memphian wo now calls Atlanta,GA home, and 41-year-old Susan Ruch-Wampler of Memphis. They clocked 1:15:32 and 1:31:33 resectively.

In the accompanying Memphis Grizzlies House 5K, middle Tennessee had a great showing. 40-year-old Eric Legros of Brentwood clocked 17:19 to win comfortably, while Nashville's Jessi Christiansen, clocking 19:03, led a trio of middle Tennesseans that swept the top three female overall spots, with Nashville's Rebecca Box clocking 19:32 and Legros' wife, Maureen Manning, 41, clocking 19:38 to place 3rd overall and pace the masters. [results: marathon | half-marathon | 5K]

12.05.09: SNELLEN AND SCHMIDT OUTPACE FIELD AT FRANKLIN'S JINGLE BELL 5K: Franklin's Jingle Bell 5K Run for Arthritis drew a crowd of 500+ runners, impressive for a first time event. But in a poorly organized race the field was led along a course around a quarter of a mile over the advertized distance, with few marshals on roads that were poorly policed. That didn't faze overall winners, Ryan Snellen and Jessica Schmidt, who cruised to overall victories (clocking 18:27 and 20:06 for around 3.35 miles) and collected $600 Mapco gift certificates for their morning's work. [results]

12.05.09: SIMON, THROCKMORTON LEAD FIELD HOME AT FROSTY 5K: Charlie Simon and 46-year-old Nancy Throckmorton led the field of 129 home at Mount Juliet's Frosty 5K, clocking times of 17:28 and 22:26 to nab the overall male and female wins. Antioch's Timothy O'Leary clocked 17:42 and placed 3rd overall to lead the male masters home. [results]

12.04.09: ADLER AND CRISP OVERALL WINNERS AT RUDOLPH'S RED NOSE RUN: Nashville's Warren Adler and Victoria Crisp were the overall male and female winners at the 29th annual Rudolph's Nose Run. Adler clocked 16:41 over the challenging downtown 5K course to finisg 24 seconds up on 16-year-old MBA cross-country stand-out Michael Peters. Crisp, 57, clocked 20:47 to outpace Susan Johnson by wight seconds. Newly-minted master, Trey Harwell, clocked 18:57 to claim his first over-40 win clocking 18:57. [results]

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