Lady Mocs take first in race while men follow fourth

The women's cross country team clipped Auburn by four points Friday afternoon to win the PowerAde title at the Moccasin Bend Course in Chattanooga. Auburn claimed the top four spots on the men's side to cruise to a victory over second place Alabama. The UTC men's team finished fourth without their top two runners.

The Lady Mocs placed all five runners in the top 10 for a total team score of 34 points.

Auburn placed second with 38 points. Kennesaw State was third with 64 points and Jacksonville State came in fourth with 113 team points. West Georgia was sixth while Tennessee State rounded out the field in seventh.

Sophomore Tara Gietemaw, Knoxville, Tenn., was Chattanooga's top place finisher with a time of 11:22.

Senior Sabrina Lefort, Timmins, Ontario, Canada, was placed fifth overall at 11:36 while sophomore Jordyn Radke, Whitby, Ontario, Canada, (11:54) senior Katie Williams, Elizabethtown, Tenn., (12:10) and sophomore Meredith White, Grayson, Ga., (12:13) were placed eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.

Kennesaw State's Mackenzie Howe was placed fourth in a time of 11:31, and rounding out the top ten was Jacksonville State's Lesley Binning at 11:48.

During the men's race, Auburn cruised to the PowerAde title, finishing with only 18 points.

The closest score was a 66 from Alabama, followed by Kennesaw State's 91 and Chattanooga's 119. West Georgia was fifth overall, followed by Jacksonville State and Mercer.

Elkanah Kibet led the Tiger onslaught with a time of 14:49 in the 5-kilometer race. Teammate Girma Mecheso was only five seconds behind Kibet. The Tigers' Scott Novack was third with a time of 15:22 with Julian Matthews at 15:31. Auburn's fifth scoring runner was Jeff Sanders who finished eighth in the scoring with a time of 16:02.

The Mocs finished fourth overall and were led by sophomore transfer Emmanuel Kirwa, Kapsabet, Kenya, in fifth place with a time of 15:40.

Senior Kevin Huwe, Murfreesboro, Tenn., placed second for the Mocs and 16th overall at 16:23. And sophomore Matt Balitmore, Cleveland, Tenn., finished in the 20th spot for UTC.

Andy Highlander, Soddy Daisy, Tenn., and Blake Ketron, Kingsport, Tenn., also scored for the Mocs. Alabama's Zac Edwards was placed sixth overall at 15:45. Kennesaw State's Scott Burley (15:57) and Piotr Witzack (16:03) were placed seventh and ninth to balance out the top 10 place finishers.

The cross country teams return to action at the Tennessee Invitational in Maryville, Tenn., Friday at 5:30 p.m.