Track teams still battling injuries, illness

Normally injuries and illnesses are not something a track coach has to worry about at the start of the season."I think in the 19 or 18 years [of coaching], this is the first we have been just decimated by flu or any other virus," Head Coach Bill Gautier said. "You miss a day here and a day there, you are gonna get behind."

The track team has had multiple athletes miss practice time with illness, and has even sustained injuries to strong runners like last season's conference champions Chris Berry and Michael Danehy.

Berry, a junior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., suffered an ankle injury over Christmas break that could keep him out until the SoCon championship meet. Berry won the 5,000 meter run at last season's SoCon championships, and is looking to repeat.

"He probably will not be ready until the conference championships, and that's a huge blow for us." Gautier said. "We are still hoping a miracle for Chris."

Danehy, a senior from Morristown, Tenn., has not seen injury this year, but he has been hit hard with illness.

Last season at the SoCon championship meet Danehy placed first in the 800 meter race.

"Michael has seen the worst case scenario as far as the illnesses that we have had," Gautier said. "[But] the SoCon Championship meet is still five weeks away, and Michael will probably have the chance to recover."

With two of the teams more experienced runners out, one would expect the team to skip a beat, but the Mocs have a full arsenal of both seasoned runners and new coming freshmen waiting to prove themselves when given the chance.

UTC's Blake Ketron, a Kingsport, Tenn., senior, Emmanuel Kirwa, a junior from Kapsabet, Kenya, and David Moore, a senior from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada will pick up where the injured and ill runners left off to lead the team.

"Emmanuel is the two time Southern Conference cross country champion," Gautier said. "Right now he is our top athlete, so we are really counting on him to get into form."

Another promising young runner, Lucas Cotter, a freshman from Memphis, won the mile race at the Blue Raider Indoor Track and field Invitational hosted by Middle Tennessee State two weeks ago.

"Lucas surprised everybody last week when he won the mile," Gautier said. "You always hope somebody is going to be better than you think they are going to be. He was a very pleasant surprise."

The UTC women have not been immune to the plague of injuries and illnesses, also seeing one of their strongest runners, Anneli Uys, a junior from Somerville, Australia, miss some time.

Uys is also a defending Southern Conference champion in the outdoor 800 and 1,500 meter races.

"She is our top female runner, and even she has missed some time," Gautier said. "She's a veteran, [and] this is her senior year of track. She will do what needs to be done."

Even some of the female runners who have been able to sidestep illness have still missed time with injuries.

Haley Horsch, an Ooltewah, Tenn., freshman, was injured two weeks ago at the Blue Raider Track and Field Indoor Invitational when she fell during the 55 meter dash.

"Our top freshman runner was injured last week in the track meet last week," said Gautier. "Of all things, one of the healthy people got injured. We're hoping she recovers; she was all-state last year."

The UTC running Mocs will look to get the team healthy and stay injury free when they travel to Ames, Iowa, Feb. 12 to take on Iowa State. The following day they will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for the MTSU Valentine Invitational.