02.28.10: MOSER 5TH IN 1500 AT U.S INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: Knoxville's Treniere Moser ran well at the U.S Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque,NM. Despite the 5300 feet elevation, Moser clocked 4:22.81 to place 5th with Morgan Uceny the suprise winner in 4:19.46, 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 TODOMINATE 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). 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 Medleey 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: Knoxvile'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. [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]

11.28.09: FEROWICH, LORD QUALIFY FOR FOOT LOCKER NATIONALS: Led by excellent runs from Knoxville's Megan Ferowich and Signal Mountain's Brandon Lord, Tennessee had a solid showing at the Foot Locker South Region Cross-Country Championships in Charlotte,NC. Ferowich (right), a sophomore at Knoxville Catholic High School ran aggressively, running with eventual winner, Chelsey Sveinsson, through 3 kilometers before the Texan pulled away decisively at 4K. Ferowich hung on gamely for 4th place at the finish, shattering her 5K PR with a 17:12 clocking. The next Tennessean finisher was Ferowich's Knoxville Catholic teammate, Joanna Thompson, who shocked everyone, inclusing herself, to hack over a minute off her PR and clock 17:56 in 18th place.

In the boys' seeded race, Signal Mountain's Brandon Lord, a Georgia-bound senior at Baylor School, ran a very impressive race to finish 5th in 14:56 in what was the deepest field in the event's history. Oak Ridge's John Sharpe was the second Tennessean finisher, placing 24th in 15:13, a time that would, most years, earn a top 15 finish. The race ws won by Craig Lutz of Texas, who clocked a blazing 14:34, just two seconds shy of Andrew Bumbalough's course record. [results]

11.26.09: DEREN AND SORO AUTUMNFEST: Michael Deren and Leah Soro were the overall male and female winners at the 25th annual Blue Cross Autumnfest 8K hld on Thanksgiving morning in downtown Knoxville. Deren, a former stand-out runner at East Tennessee State, outpaced local favorite Stewart Ellington to win in 25:18, with Ellingtom clocking 25:47. Soro, a former Lady Vol harrier, clocked 30:55 to comfortably outrun a weak women's field. Keith Gemeinhart and La Follette's Marsha Morton (who was 2nd female overall) colleced the masters titles, clocking 28:56 and 33:16 respectively. [results]

11.26.09: SORRELL AND VAN WYHE REPEAT AS WINNERS AT TURKEY TROT: Rob Sorrell and Renae van Wyhe repeated as the overall male and female winners at the Turkey Trot 4-miler at Memphis' Shelby Farms. Sorrell, 22, just four days after a fine run at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, clocked an impressive 19:24 to set a new course record, and finish 41 seconds clear of runner-up, Lance Jones. Van Wyhe, 20, a former stand-out at Collierville High School and now junior at Baylor University, clocked 24:00 to finish over a quarter-mile clear of the second placed woman, Lydia Gibson. First male and female masters home were 48-year-old Michael Scott and 49-year-old Jeannine Watts of Lamar,MS, who clocked 22:22 and 28:05 respectively. [results]

11.26.09: SNELLEN REPEATS AS BOULEVARD BOLT WINNER: Nashville's Ryan Snellen won his second straight Bolevard Bolt, outpacing Brentwood's Sean Keveren by eight seconds to win in 24:34, six seconds faster than last year. Keveren, just 19, scored a PR with his 24:42 clocking, while his former Brentwood High teammate, Tom Divinnie placed 3rd in 25:05. Nashville's Sarah Bourne was the female overall winner, clocking 30:14. First male and female masters were 49-year-old Mark Carver and 57-year-old Victoria Crisp, clocking times of 28:14 and 33:10 respectively. [results | photos]

11.23.09: BUMBALOUGH 8TH AT NCAA XC CHAMPIONSHIPS: As expected, Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough led the five Tennesseans competing at the NCAA Div.I Cross-Country Chamionships in Terre Haute,IN. Bumbalough, a 5th year senior at Georgetown improved on last year's 13th place showing to place 8th and garner all-American status at cross-country's 'big dance' for the third straight year. While Liberty University junior Sam Chelanga, the pre-race favorite ran his own race, annihilating both the competition and course record, clocking 28:40 (splitting 14:10 for 5K and 22:47 for 8K en route), Bumbalough ran in the second chase pack with five other runners. The former Brentwood Academy star split 14:46 for 5K and 23:46 for 8K en route to a 29:39 finishing time. "I'm happy with my race." he said in a post-race interview with Flotrack. "I think this year I was more within myself and had a better last 1000 m than last year." But behind Bumbalough his Georgetown teammates struggled to put it together and could only muster a 22nd place finish. Oklahoma State won the team competition, tallying 127 points, with Oregon placing 2nd at 143. Stanford, ranked #1 going into the meet, fell apart and finished only 10th.

Three other Tennessean men all run admirably in their first NCAA Championship. Memphis' Rob Sorrell, a junior at Oklahoma, ran a very smart race, always moving up therough the field after a cautious start to place 73rd in 30:39 (15:20 at 5K, 24:34 at 8K). Sorrell, running #2 for his team, helped the Sooners to a very impressive 12th place team finish in what was their first ever appearance as a team at Nationals. Fellow Memphian, Nate Edelman, a junior at Cornell, placed 93rd in 30:51 (splitting 15:12 and 24:38). And Brentwood's Sean Keveren, a redshirt freshman at Virginia, placed 188th, clocking 31:47 (15:34 and 25:24 en route).

The women's 6K race that followed was full of drama. Strong pre-race favorite, Jenny Barringer, had what was undoubtedly the worst race of her life, slowing to a jog at 3K, and then collapsing at 5K, leaving Florida State's Susan Kuijken with a large unexpected lead going into the final kilometer. But Kuijken was run down in the last half-mile by Kendra Schaaf of Washington, who, in turn, was outkicked by eventual winner Angela Bizzarri of Illinois in the last 400 meters, who clocked 19:46 to win by five seconds.

Behind all this drama was Franklin's Kathy Kroeger, a freshman at Stanford, running in just her thir ever collegiate race. Kroeger, who missed over month of running in October and early November due to a stress reaction in her femur, showed great determination leading her young team for most of the race. She placed 63rd, clocking 21:04 over the 6K layout and finishing #2 for the Cardinals, who placed 16th as a team. Villanova, 6th last year, won in emphatic fashion, racking up just 88 points, while Florida State improved on last year's 3rd place showing to get 2nd, as pre-race favorites Washington could only manage 3rd. [results: men's individual | men's team | women's individual | women's team]

11.21.09: SCHNEIDER DOMINATES FLYING MONKEY MARATHON AGAIN: Minnesotan, Ben Schneider, as he did last year, conquered the hills of Percy Warner Park and the assembled competition with apparent ease to win the Flying Monkey Marathon in Nashville. Schneider, 26, clocked 2:38:56 over the brutally hilly course to win by over 11 minutes, as Nashville's Ted Towse placed 2nd in 2:50:03. Samanatha Wood of San Antonio,TX was the first female finisher, clocking 3:17:36, as former Nashvillian, Candice Chappell place 2nd in 3:24:56. First masters finishers were 40-year-old Michael Henze of Neenah,WI and 48-year-old Tanya Savory of Nashville 3:00:46 and 3:52:33 respectively. [results]

11.21.09: BRYAN STRUGGLES, MILLIGAN LADY BUFFS SHINE AT NAIA XC CHAMPS: Bryan College's men's cross country program finished 27th at the 53rd annual NAIA Cross Country National Championship in Vancouver,WA. The Lions toed the line as the #9 ranked team in the country, but the performance they were looking for did not materialize. Malone University won their third consecutive title, while Oklahoma Christian's Silas Kisorio won the individual crown. Bryson Harper (who hails from Pikeville) and Zach Buffington (Ooltewah) led the Lions with 67th and 71st place finishes, clocking 26:19 amd 26:22 over the 8K layout. "It was a rough day for all the men, including me," said Head Coach Rodney Stoker. "We did not perform at the level expected for our program. I take full responsibility for the outcome, as I'm the one that has to have them prepared on the most important day of the season. We'll figure out what went wrong and move on to better days. Overall I'm pleased with each of our guys' progression and where this program is headed, as well as what they achieved this fall."

Milligan College's women’s cross country team finished an impressive 11th. Individually, Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.) earned All-American honors with her performance. Giffen Giffen covered the 5K course in 18:43 to place 21st overall and earn all-American status. Three Milligan freshmen were next for the Lady Buffs including Leah Nelson of Johnson City and Lauren Hubbard of Kingsport. Nelson and Hubbard were two seconds apart at 20:03 and 20:05, and rounding out the Lady Buffs top five was junior Lili Zaldana from Bristol in 20:12. As in previous years, the Lady Buffs had a higher finish in the championships than they were voted in the final pre-meet national rankings. “We have two young squads so I was extremely pleased with how our teams performed in very difficult course conditions,” commented Head Coach Chris Layne. [results]

11.21.09: MILNER, RYAN LEAD FIELD AT RUN FOR LIFE 4-MILER IN SPRINGFIELD: Nashville's Dave Milner and Brentwood's Emily Ryan were the male and female overall winners at the Beth Null Dorris Run For Life 4-miler in Springfield. Milner was almost two minutes slower than when he won this race in 2007, but still found his 23:28 good enough to edge local high school runner, Jacob Reeves, by eight seconds. Ryan's win was rather more convincing, with her 26:41 clocking almost two minutes faster than then next woman. Springfield's Keith Woodall led the male masters with his 24:38 clocking, good for 5th overall, but more impressive was the run of Nashville's Margie Stoll, aged 68, who clocked 30:37 to win the female masters title. Also of note, 69-year-old Dallas Smith of Cookeville clocked an impressive 26:53 to better his own age 65-69 state record ny ten seconds. [results]

11.20.09: FIVE TENNESSEANS IN ACTION AT NCAA NATIONAL XC CHAMPIONSHIPS: On Monday, November 23rd, Terre Haute,IN will once again play host to the NCAA Division I National Cross-Country Championships. This year, five Tennesseans will be in action. They are scattered across the nation, each having qualified for cross-country's 'big dance' via different Regional Championships. Between them they won 28 state championships while in high school. [more]

11.20.09: BRYAN COLLEGE TO CONTEND FOR NAIA CHAMPIONSHIPS: The NAIA National Cross-Country Championships takes place in Vancouver,WA on Saturday, November 21 and Bryan College's men's cross country team, along with several members of the women's team that qualified, will be in action. The men's race begins at 1:30pm CDT, and the women's race begins at 2:45pm CDT. Bryan's #9 ranked men's team won their conference meet giving them an automatic bid to the national meet. They will be competing against 31 other teams and 102 individual qualifiers from all over the nation. The Lions will be trying to dethrone Malone University (of Ohio), who has won the event the past two years, and #1 ranked Southern Oregon University.

Coached by former UT-Chattanooga stand-out Rodney Stoker (now in his 5th year leading the Lions), Bryan's men's team is almost entirely "home grown. With the exception of brothers Josh and Jake Bradley (who are from just over the state line in Ringgold,GA), the team is composed of Tennesseans. Spearheading the Lions' challenge will be Bryson Harper (who prepped at Sequatchie Co HS), and oining him will be a squad composed of Alex Stephens (who prepped at Cleveland HS - 9:45), , Colby Smith (Rhea Co HS), Daniel Goetz (Chattanooga Christian HS), Drew Thompson (Oakland HS), Hunter Hall (Brentwood HS), Jake Bradley, Jason McLeod, Josh Bradley and Zach Buffington (Oltewah HS). Joining the Lions in the Tennessean campsign will be Milligan sophomore Brendan Hawkins, a product of David Crockett HS.

In the women's race, Tennesee will be represented by #18-ranked Milligan College. Azusa Pacific are the favorites to pick up the team title. The Lady Buffs, who placed 4th last year, qualified for the national meet by winning their seventh straight Appalachian Athletic Conference title on Nov. 7, in Black Mountain, NC. Their stampede towards Nationals was led by sophomore Gillian Giffen of Knoxville (Karns HS) who won the 5K race in 19:01 and claimed her second AAC Runner of the Year award. Lili Zaldaña of Bristol (Tennessee HS) and Johnson City's Shanna Raines (Happy Valley HS) will likely run #2 and #3 for the Lady Buffs. Bryan's qualified three individuals, including Alyssia Lindsay (who prepped at Rhea County HS) for the women's race. She, along with the Milligan team, will compete against 32 teams and 114 other individual qualifiers. [meet coverage]

11.15.09: BAKSA AND GILDEA LEAD HOME FIELD AT BUDDY'S: Former UT runners, Andy Baksa and Patrick Gildea (racing for the first time this year) led home the field of 2605 runners at the Buddy's Race Against Cancer 5K in downtown Knoxville. Baksa, 25, and Gildea, 29, crossed the line together in 15:44, with another former Vol harrier, Stewart Ellington placing 3rd in 15:55. Maryville's Alexa Hinton, clocking 18:25, finished well up on Katie Flaute for the female overall win, while Keith Gemeinhart and Jasmin Keller were the fastest masters, clocking 17:37 and 19:32 respectively. [results]

NCAA REGIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY ROUND-UP

11.14.09: LADY VOLS PLACE THIRD AT NCAA SOUTH REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS: The University of Tennessee's women ran well to place 3rd team at the NCAA South Region Cross-Country Championships in Tuscaloosa,AL. Led by Jackie Areson's third place finish, the Lady Vols scored 102 points to finish a clear third ahead of Georgia, but well behind Florida and Florida State who grabbed the two automatic National Championship berths with 33- and 54-point totals. Also running very well were Vanderbilt, led by Memphian Rita Jorgensen's all-region finish in 24th place (21:12). The Lady Commodores packed well to place 5th, tieing their best ever finish in the program's 27-year history. Belmont's women placed 14th, with Chattanooga 16th and Lipscomb 19th of the 23 teams. The race was won by Florida sophomore, Rebecca Lowe, who clocked 20:03 for the 6K course.

In the men's 10K race, as expected, Alabama dominated, notching their fourth straught team win with just 45 points, while Florida State placed 2nd with 80 points. Third place Auburn (110 points) will likely receive an at-large berth for the National Championships too. Tennessee placed 6th with 178 points, with Belmont placing 10th, Chattanoga 12th, ETSU 13th, and Lipscomb 16th, while Vanderbilt, tennessee Tech and Austin Peay placed 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of the 26 schools that fielded full teams. Surprisingly, MTSU, who had won the Sun Belt conference title and were ranked #7 in the region did not field a full team. Individually, the race was won by Auburn senior Felix Kiboiywo, who, trailing Ole Miss junior, Barnabas Kirui, took turned a six second defecit at 9K into a nine second winning margin by the end of the 10K race. Kiboiywo clocked 29:35 to win. Nashville's Bejan Abtahi was the first Tennessean finisher. The Georgia senior, who prepped at Father Ryan, ran the best race of his life so far to place 15th in 30:44 and narrowly miss out on an individual berth for nationals. [results: men | women]

11.14.09: BUMBALOUGH CROWNED NCAA MID-ATLANTIC REGION CHAMPION: In Maryland, Brentwood's Andrew Bumbalough edged Villanova's Matthew Mildenhall by just four tenths of a second to picked up his second straight Mid-Atlantic Region individual cross-country title, and lead Georgetown University to their 6th straight team win. The graduate student, who prepped at Brentwood Academy, showed his strength to clock 31:41 over the challenging 10K course, and also his closing speed to foreg ahead at the finish as the top four runners all came in within a second of each other. Georgetown scored 38 points to win, with Villanova scoring 48 points for 2nd place. In the women's race, Villanova, led by race winner Sheila Reid (20:23), were a class apart, tallying just 23 points to win, while Princeton placed 2nd with 77 points. [results: men | women]

11.14.09: KROEGER BOUNCES BACK TO EARN ALL-REGION STATUS AT WEST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS: At the NCAA West Region Championships in Springfield,OR, Franklin's Kathy Kroeger returned to action for Stanford University after a brief lay-off with an injury. Kroeger clocked 21:17 over the tough 6K to finish an impressive 19th place (Stanford's #4) and garner All-Region status. The race was won by Washington's Kendra Schaaf, who clocked 20:41, and led the Huskies to a convincing win, tallying just 25 points. Oregon placed 3rd with 66 points, ahead of Stanford's 3rd place finish with 94 points. In the men's 10K race, however, Stanford dominated. Led by Chris Derrick's individual win in 30:38, the #1 ranked Cardinals racked up just 27 points, with Portland beating Oregon for 2nd, 84-109. [results]

11.14.09: SORRELL 4TH AT NCAA MID-WEST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS: Memphis' Rob Sorrell, a junior at Oklahoma, ran very well at the NCAA MidWest Region Championships in Springfield,MO, placing 4th in the men's race and clocking 30:53. Sorrell ran a strong second half of the race, having been in 18th place at halfway and 13th place at 8K. With Oklahoma State's squad opting to cruise together (#1-6 within 0.9 seconds of each other at 9th-14th place), Minnesota's Hassan Mead clocked 30:21 to win comfortably. Sorrell, who finished right behind OU's first runner, Kevin Schwab, helped the Sooners to a second place team finish with 71 points, as Oklahoma State tallied 50 points to win. In the women's race, pre-race favorite, Angela Bizzari of Illinois, had little trouble repeating as regional champ, taking 20:07 to cover the 6K course. Minnesota won the team competition totalling 60 points, with Illinois placing 2nd with 86. [results: men | women]

11.14.09: EDELMAN STAMPS TICKET FOR NATIONALS AT NORTHEAST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS: Memphis' Nate Edelman stamped his ticket for the NCAA National Cross-Country Championships by finishing 9th at the Northeast Region meet in Boston,MA. In a race won by Iona's Ryan Sheridan in 30:36, Edelman, a Cornell junior , placed 9th, clocking 31:18 for the 10K course, and, while his teame could only muster a 7th place finish, the former White Station High School runner nabbed an individual qualifying spot for Nationals. Syracuse won the team competition, edging Iona 55-59. Led by Katie Hursey's win in 21:57, Syracuse's women made it a sweep, tallying 59 points, with Providence placing 2nd. [results: Men | women]

11.14.09: TENNESSEANS IN ACTION AT SOUTHEAST REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS: Louisville,KY played host to the NCAA Southeast Region Cross-Country Championships, and several Tennesseans were in action for their respective colege teams. In the men's 10K race, the first Tennessean finisher was Kentucky freshman Matt Sonnenfeldt. The former Knoxville West star placed 55th in 32:07, three seconds and three places ahead of former Brentwood High stand-out, Tom Divinnie, a senior at Davidson College. Divinnie's former Brentwood High teammate, Sean Keveren did not run; he was Virginia's alternate. Up front, Liberty junior Sam Chelanga won, clocking a blazing 29:31 to win by 33 seconds. Team-wise, William & Mary won in emphatic style, racking up just 50 points, 49 ahead of runners-up, NC State.

In the women's 6K race, Virginia's Catherine White led the field in, clocking 20:03, but Duke beat the Cavaliers for the team win 69 to 113. Former Oak Ridge HS stand-out, Melanie Kulesz was the first Tennessean to finish. The UNC-Asheville frosh placed 109th in a time of 22:52. [results: men | women]

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11.14.09: PHILLIPS WINS CHICKAMAUGA BATTLEFIELD MARATHON: Chattanooga's Geno Phillipswon the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon held at the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park in Fort Oglethorpe,GA. Phillips clocked 2:43:06, averaging 6:14 per mile. Emily Vall, of Atlanta,GA was the female overall winner in a time of 2:58:01. The masters wins went to Tim Stewart of Simpsonville,SC and Christine Evans of Canton,GA,who clocked times of 2:57:27 and 3:16:39 respectively.

The accompanying half-marathon was won by 51-year-old Greg Johnson of Knoxville in a time of 1:22:46, while Emily Cooper of Signal Mountain was the half marathon female champion in a time of 1:33:39. Beth Strong, 45, of Ringgold,GA led the fmae masters in, clocking 1:42:47. This year marked the 30th running of the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon and second running for the Chickamauga Battlefield Half Marathon. The event set registration records with 600 registrants for the marathon and 900 registrants for the half marathon. Both the marathon and half marathon sold out two months before race day. [results: marathon | half-marathon]

11.14.09: CARVER AND BARROW MASTER THE FIELD AT TEAM NASHVILLE 10-MILER: Perhaps for the first time ever, the combined ages of the male and female overall winners of a middle Tennessee road race was in three digits. Forty-nine year old Mark Carver and 51-year-old Amy Barrow left younger runners in their wake as they picked up overall wins at the Team Nashville 10-miler in Goodlettsville. Carver, just 6 weeks shy of his 50th birthday, clocked 59:26 to finish two minutes clear of the field. Barrow clocked 1:08:43 to finish well clear of runner-up Tonya Lumphrey and place 11th of the 137 runners. Not too far behond Barrow was 69-year-old Dallas Smith of Cookeville, who chiseled eight seconds of his 65-69 State Record, clocking 1:11:30. [results]

11.14.09: EDMONDS AND TERRELL WINNERS AT INAUGURAL NASHVILLE HALF: Nashville's Jeff Edmonds and Courtney Terrell were the male and female winners of the inaugural Nashville Half-Marathon. Edmonds, 32, had virtually no competition and finished over a mile clear of the next runner, clocking 1:16:24. Terrell, 26, clocked 1:24:41, good enough to finish third overall, with former Vandy runner Caitlin Latimer of Lexington,KY finishing not far back in 1:26:00. Douglas Jones, 40, and Ellen Hobbs, 46, were the masters winners, clocking 1:28:17 and 1:38:01 respectively. [results]

11.07.09: SHARPE, FEROWICH LEAD EAST TENNESSEAN DOMINATION OF STATE CROSS-COUNTRY MEET: In the highly anticipated boys' AAA race, which saw pre-race favorite Jake Rainey of Rossview watching from the sidelines, Oak Ridge's John Sharpe (right) pulled away from Morristown West's Spencer Frantom and Science Hill's Michael Mansy shortly after the 2-mile marker and eventually finished 17 seconds clear in 15:50, the fastest time of the day. Frantom's runner-up finish spearheaded a Morristown West, racking up just 64 points, that dominated the team competition. Mansy faded in the last 1000m and was overhauled by a fast-finishing Chris Brewer of South-Doyle (3rd in 16:18) and Cordova's William James, who was 4th again, two seconds back. Oak Ridge finished second team with 137 points, with 2008 champions, Houston, 3rd with 158 points.

In the girls' AAA race, Knoxville Catholic's Megan Ferowich, annihilated the competition. The sophomore clocked a 5:37 opening mile and had almost a 60-second cushion halfway into the race. She continued to extend her lead and clocked 17:47 to finish 89 seconds clear of the next runner in, teammate Joanna Thompson. Knoxville Catholic, though, despite providing the first two finishers, couldn't cope with Oak Ridge's depth as the Wildcats, led by Adrian Etheridge's 4th place finish put five runners in the top 26 to tally just 67 points, going one better than last year to finish first team. Knoxville Catholic (who moved up a division from A-AA) edged surprise package, Ravenwood (7th in 2008), 102-106 to earn the runner-up trophy.

In the boys' A-AA race, Dyersburg senior Loren Newsom, the top returner from last year, won in 16:37, ten seconds up on MLK's Ryan Graves. For the second straight year, MLK won the team competition, this time in convincing fashion, scoring 70 as University School of Johnson City paced 2nd with 103. In the girls' A-AA race, senior Claire Turner of Red Bank (who dropped down from AAA) picked up her first ever state title, clocking 19:46, as Lipscomb 9th grader, Barbara Lee Ball placed 2nd in 19:56. USJC's girls, the 2007 and 2008 champions made it three in a row, edging Trinity Christian by just five to win the team title with 95 points.

In the boys' Div.II-AA race, Baylor senior Brandon Lord ran impressively to win by almost 200 meters and clock 15:53. Ensworth's Garrett Carmichael placed 2nd in 16:29, but it was the tight packing we have now come to expect from Montgomery Bell Academy that won the team trophy. Led by Michael Peters' 3rd place finish, MBA put four runners in the top 8 and their fifth man placed 21st to seal the deal with just 43 points. McCallie edged St Benedict by five to get 2nd place with 84 points. In the girls's Div.II-AA race, Baylor junior Hannah Jumper held off a stern challenge from St Agnes' Kacey Norbert to win by 12 seconds in 19:30. Baylor won the team trophy comfortably, tallying just 48 points, as Ensworth placed 2nd, breaking an 88-point tie with St Agnes.

In a weak Div.II-A boys' race that only saw seven runners clock under 18 minutes, Lucas Jones, a senior at Knoxville's Webb School clocked 17:14 to finish ten ticks up on USN's Avi Bregman and lead his team to a twelve point victory, 53-65 over Harding Academy. Amber Zimmerman and her Webb teammates made it a Div.II-A sweep, as she clocked 20:03 to win the girls' race with her team putting four runners in the top 10 and occupying seven of the top 15 spots, Racking up just 33 points.

Only MBA's and MLK's boys prevented a total sweep of the team trophies by East Tennessee schools. [results: Boys AAA | Girls AAA | Boys A-AA | Girls' A-AA | Boys' Div.II-AA | Girls' Div.II-AA | Boys' Div.II-A | Girls' Div.II-A]

11.07.09: BROWN-BOULAY FEMALE WINNER AT INDIANAPOLIS MONUMENTAL MARATHON: For the second time in three weeks, a Tennessean was the first female finisher at a marathon in Indianapolis. Three weeks after Cordova's Kris Huff was a winner at the Indianapolis Marathon in 3:08:07, Franklin's Molly Brown-Boulay was first female home at the 2nd annual Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Brown-Boulay, 39, negative splitted her way to a 3:07:28 clocking to beat the next woman home by two and a half minutes and finish 57th overall of the 1978 finishers. [results]

11.07.09: OUT OF TOWNERS SWEEP CLARKSVILLE HALF: Tim Hall of Nebo,KY and Samantha Wood of San Antonio,TX were the first overall male and female finishers at the Clarksville Marathon. Hall, 23, led the 884 finishers in a time of 1:16:18 to win by 94 seconds, while Wood clocked 1:27:23 to outrun a relatively weak field by over six minutes. Clarksville provided the male and female masters champs, though. Rodney Dycus was impressive in winning in 1:19:42 (good for 4th overall), while 50-year-old Lisa Kelley clocked 1:39:36 for her win. [searchable results]

11.07.09: RITZERT, CHRISTIANSEN WINNERS AT HOOVER RUN FOR HOPE: Kevin Ritzert of Antioch and Jesi Christiansen of Nashville were the overall male and female winners at the Hoover Run for Hope, clocking 17:44 and 19:19 respectively. Brentwood's Richard Kenmuir, 41, and Nashville's Jodi Gleason, 42, picked up the masters wins, clocking 18:07 and 22:13. [results]

11.01.09: MORAN TAKES DOWN COURSE RECORD AT MILLHOUSE CLASSIC: Knoxville's Brent Johnson and Amber Moran of Arden,NC made it an EBS Racing Team sweep at the Millhouse Classic 15K in Walland. Johnson, just 19, clocked 53:18 to finish 38 seconds up on runner-up Paul Thames. Moran, 31, clocked 55:37 (5:58 per mile) to place 6th overall and finish almost two minutes up on female runner-up, Emily Chaney. First male and female masters home were Knoxville's Keith Gemeinhart, 40, and Marsha Morton, 43, of La Follette, clocking times of 55:23 and 1:04:47 respectively. [results]

 

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