Lady Vols Finish Fourth, Vols Finish Seventh at NCAA South Regional

Friday, November 12

Huntsville, AL

University of Tennessee

NCAA South Regionals

Lady Vols Finish Fourth, Vols Finish Seventh at NCAA South Regional

November 12, 2021 | Track & Field

NCAA South Region Results

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In the first NCAA South Regional meet since 2019, the Vols and Lady Vols put together a pair of solid showings, with the women finishing fourth and the men placing seventh in the region.

Sydney Seymour, Katie Thronson and Olivia Janke earned All-Region for the women, marking the second consecutive region meet UT has seen three Lady Vols pick up All-Region accolades. It is the first time since 2008 and 2009 the Lady Vols have secured three All-Region runners at back-to-back meets.

On the men's side, Karl Thiessen brought home All-Region honors for the second time in his career.

WOMEN'S RACE RECAP
The Lady Vols entered the meet off a solid fifth-place showing at the SEC Championships and improved on that performance as they finished fourth with 121 points. No. 15 Ole Miss and No. 9 Florida State claimed the top-two spots in the region to automatically qualify for next week's NCAA National Championships.

Sydney Seymour was the first Lady Vol across the finish line Friday morning with a third-place finish in 19:46.52. It is a career-best regional finish for Seymour and the first top-three placement by a Lady Vol since Chelsea Blaase's first-place finish in 2015.

Katie Thronson and Olivia Janke finished second and third for UT as Thronson placed 13th at 20:12.93 and Janke 23rd in 20:30.46. Thronson and Janke nabbed All-Region honors with their final placements.

Kayla Gholar and Brooke Dixon rounded out Tennessee's scorers as they crossed the line in 29th and 54th place, respectively. Gholar ran the 6k in 20:45.95, while Dixon finished in 21:14.63. Both Gholar and Dixon made their NCAA postseason debut Friday morning.

"We had four just outstanding races," director of track & field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan said postrace. "Kayla Gholar ran in the top 30 with a breakthrough performance. The other three earned All-Region honors, finishing in the top 25. And of course, Syd capping it off with a top-three finish and really earning that bronze medal. The ladies ran very, very tough today."

MEN'S RACE RECAP
The Vols finished seventh as a team at the region meet with 228 points. No. 19 Ole Miss and Alabama clinched the automatic qualifying spots as the two teams took first and second at the South Regional.

Karl Thiessen led the squad Friday as he placed seventh overall in 29:39.16, claiming NCAA All-South Region honors. It is Thiessen's best finish at the region meet and the best finish by a Vol at regionals since Zach Long placed second in 2018.

Alex Crigger was the second Vol to finish as he crossed the finish line 31st overall in 30:48.82. Will Cronin followed in 45th at 31:11.26.

Eli Nahom and Riley Buchholz made their NCAA postseason debut Friday, completing the top-five for Tennessee as they finished 69th and 79th in 31:45.67 and 31:54.08.

"The men raced tough and it is always a hard transition late in the season," Alford-Sullivan said. "We really ran exceptionally well at the conference meet and had to turn it around today and go to 10K, but we had a very tough, gritty team. I give a shout-out to our fifth-year senior Alex Crigger with another great performance and tough racing. And then of course, Karl had his sights on having that ticket punched to the NCAA meet. He was the first American finisher in the men's meet and just ran an incredibly gritty and tough race. He was very much in control, but put the hammer down when it was needed. Karl looked great out there today."

UP NEXT
Seymour and Thiessen have secured their individual qualification for next week's NCAA Championships, which will be held Nov. 20 at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida. As a team, the Lady Vols await the NCAA Selection Show to find out their fate on advancing to nationals.

The selection show airs Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee cross country and track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter.

Women's 6K (4th of 32 – 121 points)
3. Sydney Seymour – 19:46.52
13. Katie Thronson – 20:12.93
23. Olivia Janke – 20:30.46
29. Kayla Gholar – 20:45.96
54. Brooke Dixon – 21:14.63
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57. Callie Tucker – 21:16.84
58. Rachel Sutliff – 21:18.29

Men's 10K (7th of 25 – 228 points)
7. Karl Thiessen – 29:39.16
31. Alex Crigger – 30:48.82
45. Will Cronin – 31:11.26
69. Eli Nahom – 31:45.67
79. Riley Buchholz – 31:54.08
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105. Conner Hawkins – 32:38.21
114. Canaan Anderson – 32:57.03