University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, November 9
Tallahassee, FL
University of Tennessee
vs
NCAA South Regional Championships
Photo by: Amanda Pruitt/Tennessee Athletics
Long Takes 2nd at Regional, Advances to NCAA XC Nationals
November 09, 2018 | Track & Field
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tennessee senior Zach Long qualified for nationals for the first time with a second-place finish Friday at the NCAA South Region Championships at Apalachee State Park.
Long finished the men's 10K in 31:11.5, just 12 seconds behind winner Alfred Chelanga of Alabama. He earned both USTFCCCA All-Region honors and a berth at the NCAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 17 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Behind three senior scorers, the Vols finished third in the team standings (108 points), a one spot improvement from last year. The top two teams, Ole Miss (45 points) and host Florida State (92 points), earned automatic qualifying positions in the national meet.
Freshman Karl Thiessen also earned all-region honors with a 16th-place finish (31:51.3).
The Vols' top five all placed in the top 40. Sophomore Alex Crigger was 26th (32:14.1), redshirt senior Andre Hillsman was 28th (32:18.8) and senior Nick Brey took 36th (32:33.5).
In the women's 6K, junior Megan Murray took 10th place in 20:56.8 to earn all-region honors for the second consecutive year. As more teams from the region are projected to receive at-large bids, Murray is in good position to make the finals as an individual as well. The full field will be released this weekend.
She led the Vols to a seventh-place team finish with 221 points, an improvement from the squad's 10th-place finish last year. Host Florida State won the meet with 60 points, and Florida took second (64 points).
After Murray crossed the line, the Lady Vols' scorers also included: freshman Katie Thronson (33rd; 21:22.1), senior Peighton Meske (46th; 21:37.6), freshman Sydney Seymour (58th; 21:49.8) and freshman Alaina Riordan (86th; 22:32.7).
QUOTES
Beth Alford-Sullivan, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
(On the women's race)
"We came in ranked eighth and finished seventh. It was a very solid effort all the way through. Megan was on a mission to finish top 10 and make NCAAs. That's looking very favorable. Katie Thronson had another great freshman run. She had a great first 3,000m but got jumped at the end. I'm very proud of Peighton Meske. She's made us a championship level team and really competed all the way through the race. I'm really proud of the Lady Vols. They had a lot of confidence and poise."
(On the men's race)
"We had a heartbreak of an end result, but we had a great season on the men's side. We knew this would be a battle today between FSU and Belmont for second place. FSU had a late-race advantage on us and pulled away. I couldn't be more proud of our team. To have Zach Long be runner-up and earn a berth to nationals, it shows that he's carried this team on his back for the last four years. I'm thrilled to see him represent the Vols at nationals. Karl Thiessen came off a spectacular SEC and did it again in the 10K. He was tougher than nails for the Vols. Alex Crigger came up very strong. He's come along ways in one year. The heat took its toll. Andre Hillsman also had an amazing race. He backed up a top-30 SEC finish to take 28th today. I couldn't be more proud of him. Nick Brey moved up in the pack from 60th to 36th. We got beat by just 10-15 points in the close races this year; that's all it takes. There were a lot of tears and a lot of emotion at the end. I've been coaching a long time and these men have been true representatives of the orange and white."
NCAA South Region Championships
Men's 10K
Tennessee Results
2. Zach Long, 31:11.5
16. Karl Thiessen, 31:51.3
26. Alex Crigger, 32:14.1
28. Andre Hillsman, 32:18.8
36. Nick Brey, 32:33.5
—
50. Gashaw Duhamel, 32:49.5
64. Wesley Robinson, 33:09.3
Team Results
1. Ole Miss, 45
2. Florida State, 92
3. Tennessee, 108
4. Belmont, 139
5. Georgia Tech, 161
6. Alabama, 227
7. Tennessee Tech, 242
8. North Florida, 262
9. ETSU, 278
10. Samford, 285
Women's 6K
Tennessee Results
10. Megan Murray, 20:56.8
33. Katie Thronson, 21:22.1
46. Peighton Meske, 21:37.6
58. Sydney Seymour, 21:49.8
86. Alaina Riordan, 22:32.7
—
134. Abigail Smith, 23:26.0
149. Sarah McCabe, 23:44.1
Team Results
1. Florida State, 60
2. Florida, 64
3. Ole Miss, 87
4. Georgia Tech, 144
5. Georgia, 165
6. Vanderbilt, 183
7. Tennessee, 221
8. Alabama, 231
9. Middle Tennessee, 236
10. Lipscomb, 240
Long finished the men's 10K in 31:11.5, just 12 seconds behind winner Alfred Chelanga of Alabama. He earned both USTFCCCA All-Region honors and a berth at the NCAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 17 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Behind three senior scorers, the Vols finished third in the team standings (108 points), a one spot improvement from last year. The top two teams, Ole Miss (45 points) and host Florida State (92 points), earned automatic qualifying positions in the national meet.
Freshman Karl Thiessen also earned all-region honors with a 16th-place finish (31:51.3).
The Vols' top five all placed in the top 40. Sophomore Alex Crigger was 26th (32:14.1), redshirt senior Andre Hillsman was 28th (32:18.8) and senior Nick Brey took 36th (32:33.5).
In the women's 6K, junior Megan Murray took 10th place in 20:56.8 to earn all-region honors for the second consecutive year. As more teams from the region are projected to receive at-large bids, Murray is in good position to make the finals as an individual as well. The full field will be released this weekend.
She led the Vols to a seventh-place team finish with 221 points, an improvement from the squad's 10th-place finish last year. Host Florida State won the meet with 60 points, and Florida took second (64 points).
After Murray crossed the line, the Lady Vols' scorers also included: freshman Katie Thronson (33rd; 21:22.1), senior Peighton Meske (46th; 21:37.6), freshman Sydney Seymour (58th; 21:49.8) and freshman Alaina Riordan (86th; 22:32.7).
QUOTES
Beth Alford-Sullivan, Director of Track & Field/Cross Country
(On the women's race)
"We came in ranked eighth and finished seventh. It was a very solid effort all the way through. Megan was on a mission to finish top 10 and make NCAAs. That's looking very favorable. Katie Thronson had another great freshman run. She had a great first 3,000m but got jumped at the end. I'm very proud of Peighton Meske. She's made us a championship level team and really competed all the way through the race. I'm really proud of the Lady Vols. They had a lot of confidence and poise."
(On the men's race)
"We had a heartbreak of an end result, but we had a great season on the men's side. We knew this would be a battle today between FSU and Belmont for second place. FSU had a late-race advantage on us and pulled away. I couldn't be more proud of our team. To have Zach Long be runner-up and earn a berth to nationals, it shows that he's carried this team on his back for the last four years. I'm thrilled to see him represent the Vols at nationals. Karl Thiessen came off a spectacular SEC and did it again in the 10K. He was tougher than nails for the Vols. Alex Crigger came up very strong. He's come along ways in one year. The heat took its toll. Andre Hillsman also had an amazing race. He backed up a top-30 SEC finish to take 28th today. I couldn't be more proud of him. Nick Brey moved up in the pack from 60th to 36th. We got beat by just 10-15 points in the close races this year; that's all it takes. There were a lot of tears and a lot of emotion at the end. I've been coaching a long time and these men have been true representatives of the orange and white."
NCAA South Region Championships
Men's 10K
Tennessee Results
2. Zach Long, 31:11.5
16. Karl Thiessen, 31:51.3
26. Alex Crigger, 32:14.1
28. Andre Hillsman, 32:18.8
36. Nick Brey, 32:33.5
—
50. Gashaw Duhamel, 32:49.5
64. Wesley Robinson, 33:09.3
Team Results
1. Ole Miss, 45
2. Florida State, 92
3. Tennessee, 108
4. Belmont, 139
5. Georgia Tech, 161
6. Alabama, 227
7. Tennessee Tech, 242
8. North Florida, 262
9. ETSU, 278
10. Samford, 285
Women's 6K
Tennessee Results
10. Megan Murray, 20:56.8
33. Katie Thronson, 21:22.1
46. Peighton Meske, 21:37.6
58. Sydney Seymour, 21:49.8
86. Alaina Riordan, 22:32.7
—
134. Abigail Smith, 23:26.0
149. Sarah McCabe, 23:44.1
Team Results
1. Florida State, 60
2. Florida, 64
3. Ole Miss, 87
4. Georgia Tech, 144
5. Georgia, 165
6. Vanderbilt, 183
7. Tennessee, 221
8. Alabama, 231
9. Middle Tennessee, 236
10. Lipscomb, 240
Players Mentioned
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XC/Middle Distance/Distance
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Distance
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XC/Distance
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