Lady Vols Win 6K at Blazer Classic

Friday, October 12

Birmingham, AL

University of Tennessee

Blazer Classic

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2018.08.31 - Tennessee vs. Louisville Cardinals

Photo by: Maury Neipris/Tennessee Athletics

October 12, 2018 | Track & Field

Women's Results Men's Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Tennessee women's cross country team won its second team title of the year Friday, taking first at the Blazer Classic.

The Lady Vols defeated 19 teams in the 6K race with 45 points. SEC opponent Alabama took second with 61.

Junior Megan Murray led the way with a third-place finish (20:56.46), her first time to lead the Vols to the finish line and third top-10 finish this season. She was followed by two-time SEC Freshman of the Week Katie Thronson, who took fourth in 21:09.77.

Freshman Sydney Seymour scored her third top-10 finish of the season, taking 10th in 21:31.29. Senior Peighton Meske (13th, 21:41.40) and redshirt freshman Alaina Riordan (19th, 22:09.38) rounded out scoring for Tennessee.

Tennessee won the women's title at the Auburn Invitational earlier this season and also placed second in the open race at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

While most of the men's team will compete Saturday at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational, the Vols fielded a scoring team for the Blazer Classic 8K and placed sixth overall.

Senior Andre Hillsman was the top finisher for the Vols, crossing the finish in 24:55.56 to take 11th. Tennessee scorers also included: Georde Goodwyn (23rd, 25:21.30), Adam Johnston (43rd, 26:11.58), Nick Boogades (44th, 26:12.38), and Jose Parrilla (47th, 26:25.94).

UP NEXT: Tennessee wraps up the regular season Saturday with the inaugural Arturo Barrios Invitational at Texas A&M. Then the teams set their sits on the postseason. The SEC meet will be held Oct. 26 at Auburn.

QUOTES
Beth Alford-Sullivan, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
"We're really pleased with the results. It's been a challenging week with travel rearrangements and splitting our squad, but it's great they took advantage of the opportunity. The course was very good and again, we appreciate UAB allowing us into the field at short notice. Coach (Ryan) Foster took he troops down there, and they were ready to go. It was a great race from Megan Murray and well as Katie Thronson, who's continuing to excel as a freshman. In the team competition, it was our 3-4-5 who made a big difference. We had great races from Peighton Meske, who's stepping up as a senior and is a team captain for us, freshman Sydney Seymour and redshirt freshman Alaina Riordan. We knew we'd have our hands full with Alabama, which we've now faced three times this season. It's another good preparation for the SEC meet."

"On the men's side, Andre Hillsman had a tough race. He stumbled near the start but really worked through the pack the rest of the way to finish 11th. I'm also pleased with Georde Goodwyn, a redshirt freshman for us, getting a top 25 result. Also a shoutout to our 800 guys for really competing and putting effort out there: Jose Parrilla and Trey Quealy."

BLAZER CLASSIC
Women's 6K Race
Tennessee Results
3. Megan Murray, 20:56.46
4. Katie Thronson, 21:09.77
10. Sydney Seymour, 21:31.29
13. Peighton Meske, 21:41.40
19. Alaina Riordan, 22:09.38
--
28. Abigail Smith, 22:26.14
37. Sarah McCabe, 22:44.25
57. Jessica Rizor, 23:19.18
58. Emma Reed, 23:19.81
66. Sloane Montgomery, 23:28.45
80. Laura Bretscher, 23:52.10

Team Scores
1. Tennessee, 45
2. Alabama, 61
3. Southern Miss, 83
4. Florida State, 137
5. Samford, 142
6. Florida A&M, 220
7. UAB, 223
8. Troy, 237
9. Tennessee Tech, 271
10. South Alabama, 278

Men's 8K Race
Tennessee Results
11. Andre Hillsman, 24:55.56
23. Georde Goodwyn, 25:21.30
43. Adam Johnston, 26:11.58
44. Nick Boogades, 26:12.38
47. Jose Parrilla, 26:25.94
—
62. Trey Quealy, 27:14.92

Team Scores
1. Florida State, 43
2. Tennessee Tech, 52
3. Florida A&M, 64
4. Memphis, 114
5. Samford, 116
6. Tennessee, 155
7. Troy, 174
8. North Alabama, 222
9. Mercer, 224
10. South Alabama, 283