University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
ISU Pre-Nationals (8k)
Vols Finish 22nd at ISU Pre-Nationals
October 18, 2008 | Cross Country
Oct. 18, 2008
The Tennessee men's cross country team ran to a 22nd-place finish with 530 points Saturday in the Blue Race at the 8K ISU Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. Sophomore Michael Spooner was the top finisher among Vols in 45th place with a personal-best time of 24:24.8.
Alabama captured the race's team title with 89 points, and the Crimson Tide's Tyson David was the individual winner in 23:30.1. Forty-one teams and more than 270 individuals competed in the race.
"I want to congratulate Michael Spooner on his first finish as our No. 1 guy, and Andrew Press ran another strong, steady race," Tennessee head coach George Watts said. "We made improvements on our times from last year, though we did not run as well as I had hoped. It's something we can build on between now and the conference and regional meets. It wouldn't have taken much for us to have finished in the top 15, but we're going to need toughness and competitiveness that we didn't have today when we get to those meets."
Spooner was followed closely across the line by senior Press, who placed 52nd in a time of 24:28.3. Junior Chris Rapp was the third UT finisher in 140th at 25:11.7, and senior Steve Tobin was one-tenth of a second behind him in 141st place. The final Volunteer to score for the team was junior Mike Brodsky in 152nd place with a time of 25:19.7.
Junior Chris Kane crossed the line 187th overall in a time of 25:37.0, and freshman Chris Bodary was the 204th finisher with a clocking of 25:45.3.
Three other Vols competed in the open race later in the afternoon. Sophomore David Clabo was the top UT finisher in 64th with a time of 26:00.9. He was followed by sophomores Stuart Chandler in 67th with a clocking of 26:06.2 and Steve Fassino in 80th with a time of 26:21.7.
The Vols will rest the weekend of Oct. 25 before running in the SEC Championship on Monday, Nov. 3 in Starkville, Miss.
