University of Tennessee Athletics
XC CENTRAL: Bluegrass Invitational
September 11, 2014 | Track & Field
Tennessee: 6-0 (0-0 SEC)
Last Time Out: The men's cross country team opened the season with a bang last weekend, earning a first place finish at the Powerade Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn. It was the first outright victory for the Vols under new director of track and field/cross country Beth Sullivan. The trio of Kyle Walter, Jack Little, and Austin Whitelaw led the way for UT with sequential finishes of fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Vol Spotlight: We place the Tennessee spotlight on junior Kyle Walter. The Knoxville native turned in a career best 15:18.28 last week on the 5k course to finish fourth overall on the men's side of Powerade Invitational. Walter was the top Tennessee finisher in Chattanooga, finishing six seconds ahead of teammate Jack Little and only six seconds back of the race's third-place finisher, Amos Cheruiyot of Middle Tennessee.
About This Event: Races this weekend will be held at Masterson Station Park, located four miles northwest of downtown Lexington, Ky. The course is 100 percent grass and runs over rolling hills. Masterson Station Park was the host site for the 2009 and 2012 USATF Club Cross Country Championships. The men's 8k race begins at 9:30 a.m. ET with an awards ceremony to follow at 11 a.m.
Tennessee: 5-2 (0-0 SEC)
Last Time Out: At the Powerade Invitational, the Tennessee women's cross country team came in third place and saw three runners finish inside the top 20. Heading those finishes were a pair of gutty performances from juniors Chelsea Blaase and Alexis Panisse. Blaase came in second, finishing behind only UT-Chattanooga's All-American Teghan Henderson. Meanwhile, Panisse outdueled Georgia State's Stella Christoforou down the stretch to come in third with a time of 11:12.37.
Vol Spotlight: This week we place the Vol Spotlight on junior Chelsea Blaase after a very strong showing in the first race of the year at the Powerade Invitational. The junior blazed her way through the 2-mile course, finishing the race with a time of 10:31.35 and claiming second place. Blaase spent most of the race running stride-for-stride alongside UTC All-American Teghan Henderson, and would finish just steps behind her. Henderson finished the race in 10:30.08 - just over a second ahead of Blaase.
About This Event: Races this weekend will be held at Masterson Station Park, located four miles northwest of downtown Lexington, Ky. The course is 100 percent grass and runs over rolling hills. Masterson Station Park was the host site for the 2009 and 2012 USATF Club Cross Country Championships. The women's 5k race follows the men's 8k race and is slated to start at 10:10 a.m. An awards ceremony will follow, beginning at roughly 11 a.m.
Other Teams Competing: Tennessee, Akron, Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky, Morehead State, Northern Kentucky, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Southern Indiana. Including 12 unattached runners, 252 total athletes will compete on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
