2008 Woodie Awards
Cross country women capture SoCon title, men place fifth
Sarah Burzynski
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: Sports
By Sarah Burzynski
Assistant Sports Editor
The Chattanooga Lady Mocs claimed the team title at the 2006 Southern Conference cross country championships along the Tennessee River at the Moccasin Bend race course Saturday morning.
Senior Lanni Marchant out of London, Ontario picked up her first SoCon championship title and led UTC to a one-point victory in a neck-and-neck race against Appalachian State.
Marchant led three Mocs in the top 10 with a first-place time of 17:01.17 over the 5,000-meter course.
"Winning the team title makes this a thousand times better," Marchant said. "I knew it would be close."
The past two SoCon Championships have been close for UTC.
In 2005, the Lady Mocs were on the losing end of a one-point gap, getting defeated by Davidson, and this year Chattanooga barely edged the Mountaineers 43-44 to win their fifth SoCon title.
Lady Mocs' head coach Bill Gautier was named SoCon Women's Coach of the Year for the fifth time since arriving at Chattanooga.
"I'm very proud pf the way Lanni has stepped up and taken over the leadership role," Gautier said. "She deserves the honor of being the best runner in the Southern Conference."
Marchant, Sabrina LeFort, a junior from Timmons, Ontario, and Katie Williams, a sophomore out of Elizabethton, Tenn., were named to the Women's All-Conference team.
On the men's side, Appalachian State rose to the top after three runners finished in the top 10.
The Mountaineers were led by redshirt freshman Phil Mitchell, who took first overall in the men's race.
He finished the 8K course in 25:17.19 and was named SoCon Runner of the Year.
ASU coach Mike Curcio, who was named SoCon Men's Coach of the Year, praised Mitchell's effort, saying that the freshman put in several great workouts during the season.
Mitchell's teammate, Josh Houser, was dubbed the league's Freshman of the Year after finishing 18th.
UTC clinched the fifth spot with 121 points, 43 points ahead of sixth place The Citadel.
One Mocs runner, Tim Clark, an Indianapolis junior, was named to the Men's All-Conference team.
After several days of rain, both the men's and the women's courses had to be reworked to avoid a small lake.
Curcio said that Gautier did a fantastic job making sure that the student athletes and the spectators were able to safely access the course.
The Mocs will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to run in the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 11.
Race time is set for 10 a.m.
Assistant Sports Editor
The Chattanooga Lady Mocs claimed the team title at the 2006 Southern Conference cross country championships along the Tennessee River at the Moccasin Bend race course Saturday morning.
Senior Lanni Marchant out of London, Ontario picked up her first SoCon championship title and led UTC to a one-point victory in a neck-and-neck race against Appalachian State.
Marchant led three Mocs in the top 10 with a first-place time of 17:01.17 over the 5,000-meter course.
"Winning the team title makes this a thousand times better," Marchant said. "I knew it would be close."
The past two SoCon Championships have been close for UTC.
In 2005, the Lady Mocs were on the losing end of a one-point gap, getting defeated by Davidson, and this year Chattanooga barely edged the Mountaineers 43-44 to win their fifth SoCon title.
Lady Mocs' head coach Bill Gautier was named SoCon Women's Coach of the Year for the fifth time since arriving at Chattanooga.
"I'm very proud pf the way Lanni has stepped up and taken over the leadership role," Gautier said. "She deserves the honor of being the best runner in the Southern Conference."
Marchant, Sabrina LeFort, a junior from Timmons, Ontario, and Katie Williams, a sophomore out of Elizabethton, Tenn., were named to the Women's All-Conference team.
On the men's side, Appalachian State rose to the top after three runners finished in the top 10.
The Mountaineers were led by redshirt freshman Phil Mitchell, who took first overall in the men's race.
He finished the 8K course in 25:17.19 and was named SoCon Runner of the Year.
ASU coach Mike Curcio, who was named SoCon Men's Coach of the Year, praised Mitchell's effort, saying that the freshman put in several great workouts during the season.
Mitchell's teammate, Josh Houser, was dubbed the league's Freshman of the Year after finishing 18th.
UTC clinched the fifth spot with 121 points, 43 points ahead of sixth place The Citadel.
One Mocs runner, Tim Clark, an Indianapolis junior, was named to the Men's All-Conference team.
After several days of rain, both the men's and the women's courses had to be reworked to avoid a small lake.
Curcio said that Gautier did a fantastic job making sure that the student athletes and the spectators were able to safely access the course.
The Mocs will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to run in the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 11.
Race time is set for 10 a.m.
