Strong showing from Blue Raiders at PowerAde Invitational
Men first, women second in second meet of the season
September 7, 2012 · Athletic CommunicationsRachel Islam was eighth overall at the Powerade Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn. Islam was the second overall MT finisher. (Athletic Communications)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee cross country teams split with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the men's and women's races Friday. MT's women's squad placed second while the men claimed the title. UTC won the women's race and came in second in the men's.
For the second week in a row, Autumn Gipson, Rachel Islam and Julia Kitevski finished as the top 3 runners for the Blue Raiders. Gipson ran the two-mile course in 12:14.49 to place fourth while Islam (12:26.67) was eighth and Kitevski (12:27.47) 10th.
Stephanie Smith (18th) navigated the course in 13:10.16 while the final scorer for MT, Tressanique Hampton, was 22nd with a time of 13:23.86. Hannah Northam (13:30.39) was 24th.
MT was 13 points behind UTC with a score of 62 as the Mocs swept the top three spots and Amanda Sumner took the crown in 11:38.08. Austin Peay was third with 68 points while UT-Martin (81) placed fourth. Covenant College and Alabama A&M each had 153 points while Tennessee State closed out the meet in seventh place with 195 points.
In the men's 5000 meter race, MT placed all five scoring runners in the top 10, including three in the top five. Robinson Simatei (15:48.58) and Alden Dixon (16:00.08) were second and third, respectively, and Silas Taiget was fifth with a time of 16:11.12. Keith Davis was close behind Taiget, finishing sixth in 16:28.24 and Lyle Haywood rounded out the Blue Raiders' scorers with a 10th place finish of 16:46.65.
Other runners for MT were Jamarious Jones and Jake Levin. Jones finished 21st with a time of 18:23.90 and Levin was 29th after crossing the finish at 19:03.56.
MT nabbed the title with a team score of 26 while UTC had just 32. UT Martin (67), Austin Peay (103) and Covenant College (148) rounded out the top five and Tennessee State's 150 placed them sixth.
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More Track & Cross Country News
Sep 29, 2012: Blue Raiders show improvement at Greater Louisville ClassicSep 15, 2012: Blue Raiders compete at Commodore Classic
Sep 7, 2012: Strong showing from Blue Raiders at PowerAde Invitational
Aug 31, 2012: Men sixth, women eighth at VU-Belmont Opener
Aug 29, 2012: Cross country men picked to finish third, women sixth
Aug 13, 2012: 2012 Cross Country schedule released