University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Earns Second at Greensboro Invitational
September 30, 2000 | Cross Country
We definitely made more progress today, head coach George Watts said. One race doesn't make a season, but we're a stronger team than I anticipated. Overall, it was a good performance. We ran our kind of race. It was a plus to defeat Iowa State for the second spot.
The Vols also improved on their top five spread to slice it to 44 seconds, down from 1:08.52 at the UT Invitational. Individually, Eric Bell led the Vols by navigating the narrow, hilly, wood chip-covered trail in seventh place by crossing the finish line in 25:43, a full 36 seconds faster than his last race. Rob Cloutier broke the tape in a season- best 25:53 to earn ninth. Clay Wiggins continued the theme of improvement by finishing 16th in 26:13, a solid 55.75 seconds faster than his last race.
Two Vols made a splash in their first outing of the season. Marcus Tanner, who missed the first two races of the season with a hip injury, opened with his 17th-place, 26:14 finish. Freshman Paul Hallman rounded out the Vol scoring five with his 22nd- place, 26:27 finish in his first race wearing the orange and white.
Paul's (Hallman) finish was a big surprise, Watts said. We're a lot better with Paul and Marcus (Tanner) in there. Marcus' fitness level is down some because he hasn't been racing because of his injury. I expect him to be up with our frontrunners as the season progresses.
Freshman Keith Kimmons followed directly in 23rd by running the course in 26:28, 44.76 seconds faster than his last race. Scott Defilippis finished 26th in 26:37. Matt Dewalt ran a 27:22, a 16.80 second improvement from his last race, to earn 26th. Vince Dressel took 57th by clocking a 28:03. Eric Poole brought up the rear for the Vols in 32:17 to place 97th.
Tennessee returns to action Oct. 15 at the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor in its last preparation for the SEC Championships Oct. 30 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
