University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
SEC Championships (8K)
VOLS PLACE CLOSE FOURTH IN BEST SEC FINISH SINCE 2002
October 29, 2005 | Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2005
Tennessee's cross country squad raced to a tight fourth-place finish with 93 points at the 7.9K SEC championship Saturday morning on Hilton Field at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. The finish marked Tennessee's best SEC effort since 2002 and its best point total in the conference meet since 2001.
Co-captain Zach Sabatino led the Vols with a sixth-place, 23-minute, 17.26-second-finish in the 95-runner field. His 23:17.26 time over the 7.9K course trailed the time of champion Josphat Boit of Arkansas by just 18 seconds. The last time a Vol finished within 18 seconds of the SEC champion came in 1995 when future Olympian and Knoxvillian Tony Cosey finished in third place and 13 seconds behind Arkansas' Godfrey Siamusiye. Sabatino's sixth-place finish was the best by a Vol in the SEC meet since Ryan Demers also finished sixth in 2001. Sabatino has led the Vols in all four races in which he has competed this season. In those four meets, 15 runners have beaten the Vol senior to the line, compared to 622 runners Sabatino has defeated.
Top-ranked Arkansas won the SEC team title unpressed with 23 points. The margin between the second and fourth finishers was closer. No. 20 Alabama took second with 73 points. Eighth-ranked Florida edged the unranked Vols for third with 87 points, six points ahead of fourth-place Tennessee. Arkansas' Boit took individual gold with a torrid 22:59.10 time. Alabama's Augustus Maiyo finished second with a 23:01.18 time. Arkansas' Shawn Forrest took third with a 23:03.69 effort.
"I thought overall we ran a strong race and improved on last year's finish," head coach George Watts said. "Our goal was to also close the gap on some of our region opponents. I believe we set ourselves up for a strong regional race, and we have a chance to qualify for the NCAA championship. I'm especially proud of Zach. He continues to run at a very high level, especially since he was a little under the weather going into the race."
Sabatino earned All-SEC honors with his sixth-place, 23:17.26 time. After racing only two races previously this season, junior Chris Platt rallied to finish 17th, second among Vols, with a 23:52.64 time. Farragut native Andy Baksa finished 21st with a 24:00.15 time. Junior Tyler DeVault took 25th with a 24:10.53 time. Ben Lukowski bookended Tennessee's scoring five by crossing 29th after completing the course in 24:24.03.
The last time the top-four Volunteers placed in the top 25 at the SEC championship came in 2001. While Tennessee's second through fifth finishers were bunched in a 32-second spread, the Vols' top-five spread measured 1:07, wider than Watts' sub-minute target.
Matt Piccarello took 33rd in 24:27.67. Jeff Day (35th, 24:30.52) and Steve Tobin (36th, 24:31.03) crossed the finish line soon after. Senior Kenny Schappert finished 66th with a 25:42.84 time. Dusty Miller placed 75th with a 26:02.56 clocking.
While Tennessee gained ground on its higher-ranked region opponents in the SEC championship, the Volunteers face a stout test at the upcoming NCAA South Regionals in Gainesville, Fla., Nov. 12. The top-two regional teams will advance to the NCAA championship Nov. 22. To make the NCAA field, Tennessee must find a way to best the talented squads of Florida State, Alabama and Florida on its home course. However, the last two times Tennessee has qualified for the NCAA championships (2001 and `02) the Vols have entered the regional meet ranked fourth.
