University of Tennessee Athletics
XC Central: NCAA South Regional
November 10, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to compete at the NCAA South Region Championship on Friday. The Vols will compete at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla. starting with the women’s 6K race at 8:30 a.m. ET and the men’s 10K race at 9:30 a.m. ET.
“We’re looking forward to it; we ran regionals here a few years ago,” Tennessee director of track & field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. “It’s a great course and a great environment. Florida State does a great job hosting and we look forward to a good competition against a number of quality teams.”
The men’s team has competed in 8K races for the past three races, but will step up to a 10K on Friday. Sophomore Zach Long has been the first Volunteer to cross the line in all five competitions this year. The Rutledge, Tenn. native competed in his first 10k collegiate race at last year’s NCAA South Region meet, where he recorded a time of 32:54.45. The Vols enter the South Regional ranked ninth in the USTFCCCA regional rankings.
“Our men have maintained a top 10 ranking in the region throughout the season, so we hope to bring back that end result as a team—to stay within the top ten,” said Alford-Sullivan. “The extra 2,000 meters in this race is long enough that it can really change the outcome of how things go.”
The men’s squad returns to action after placing ninth at the SEC Championship race on October 28. Juniors Andre Hillsman and Nick Brey finished second and third for the Big Orange.
The women will send freshman Megan Murray and sophomore Peighton Meske to the South Regional as individual competitors. Murray has placed first for the UT all four competitions in which she has competed.
Murray (21:34.30) and Meske (21:45.20) both recorded their top 6K marks at the Crimson Classic earlier this year. Murray finished 25th and Meske took 34th in a field of 251 runners.
“It will be a great experience for this young squad to get into a high-level competition and challenge themselves,” Alford-Sullivan said.
Tennessee cross country fans can follow the Vols on Twitter and Instagram @Vol_Track. The host institution, Florida State, will have a Facebook live stream of both races.
