CARBONDALE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin cross country teams got off to a blazing start in its 2013 spring track opener over the weekend, taking part in the Southern Illinois Invitational at the SIU Recreation Center.
In the 3000 meter run, Justin Morgan compiled a time of 9:05.79, followed by a time of 10:02.90 by Mark Graubner. Josiah Roberts (4:53.15) and Zach Phifer (4:57.69) both competed in the one mile run for the Skyhawk men’s squad.
A trio of Skyhawks battled in the 3000 meter run on the women’s side, led by Amanda Wardlaw’s time of 11:00.13 with Alexandra Stover (12:00.44) and Kathryn Skaggs (12:13.72) following closely behind. Freshmen Kaycee Grimes and Abby Frantom each took part in the one mile run, finishing with times of 5:47.38 and 5:55.11, respectively.
“Seven personal bests out of 13 racers is a good start to the season,” UT Martin head coach Gordon Sanders said. “The big story was Justin winning his section race with a 25 second improvement in his 3000 meter run. Many of the team had not experienced an indoor meet and this event was a good introduction – these races were a good measure of our fitness. We will have a good training block before we get to our outdoor race in six weeks.”
The Skyhawks return to their track portion of the schedule on Saturday, March 16 at the Rhodes Invitational in Memphis.