University of Tennessee Athletics
Cross Country set for Louisville Classic
September 30, 2016 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams will compete Saturday in the Greater Louisville Classic at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park, in Louisville, Kentucky.
The men will compete in the 8K gold race, which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET. The women will take part in the 5K blue race slated for 11:30 a.m. There will be 37 schools from across the United States and Canada competing in the Greater Louisville Classic.
"The men's team is looking forward to racing. We have had two weeks of good training and everyone is healthy," Tennessee Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "This course favors us, it is a relatively flat and fast course. It will be highly competitive, but I think our guys are mentally and physically in great shape."
The men's team hopes to build off of their eighth place finish in the Commodore Classic hosted by Vanderbilt. The team was led by Zach Long who finished the 8K in 25:34.80 finishing 32nd overall. Wesley Robinson crossed the line seconds later with a time of 25:44.50 to finish 42nd. Gashaw Duhamel ran his first official race placing 74th with a mark of 26:12.50, earning him SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
The women's team returns to action after last racing on Sept 3. The team was supposed to compete at the Commodore Classic, but inclement weather prevented them from taking the course.
"The women's side will compete our young and small, but mighty squad. I am excited for Megan Murray, who has had a great couple of weeks of training and she is feeling great," Alford-Sullivan said. "This will be a good environment for them to see how they compete."
Both teams competed in the Greater Louisville Classic last year, where the men and women's teams both had impressive showings. Long led the men's team, crossing the line with an 8K time of 25:06.83. On the women's squad, Jessica Rizor had a standout race finishing seventh overall in the 5K with a time of 18:03.87.
