University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Powerade Invitational
UT Men Capture Powerade Invitational
September 06, 2014 | Track & Field
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Tennessee men's and women's cross country teams got the 2014 campaign off to a great start on Friday, turning in a pair of strong results at the Powerade Invitational hosted by UT-Chattanooga. The men finished the day in first place while the women came in third.
"Our goal on the men's side was to win the meet and we achieved that goal," said Tennessee director of track and field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan. "They ran a really tough race and battled hard with Middle Tennessee the whole way. The first mile was fast, but they were prepared for that and they handled it well. They just had to settle in and they did that. It was a great team effort."
The men's side was propelled by the trio of Kyle Walter, Jack Little, and Austin Whitelaw, who finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Walter turned in a team-best time of 15:18.28 on the 5K course, followed by Little's 15:24.99 and Whitelaw's 15:25.87.
J.R. Creekmore finished just outside of the top 10 as his time of 15:53.46 was good for 11th place. Meanwhile, Jeremy Dickie (16:08.46) finished 17th.
The Volunteer women were led by a second place finish from Chelsea Blaase. The junior finished just steps behind UT-Chattanooga's All-American Teghan Henderson with a blazing two-mile time of 10:31.35. Fellow junior Alexis Panisse came in third for UT, posting a time of 11:12.37 and outdueling Georgia State's Stella Christoforou down the stretch.
"Chelsea just had a phenomenal race against Teghan Henderson," Sullivan said. "She really battled it out with her and it was a great matchup and an absolutely awesome race. Alexis Panisse came through with a big kick down the home stretch, too, and really ran a strong race.
"I call those two (Blaase and Panisse) my dynamic duo because they are just tougher than nails and great competitors."
Senior Amirah Johnson also finished inside the top 20 for UT, coming in 17th behind a time of 11:40.78.
Recent graduate and VFL Peter Okwera (15:40.28) competed unattached on Friday. He came in eighth on the men's side.
Powerade Invitational
Tennessee Men's Individual Results (5K)
Kyle Walter - 15:18.28
Jack Little - 15:24.99
Austin Whitelaw - 15:25.87
J.R. Creekmore - 15:53.46
Jeremy Dickie - 16.08.46
Nick Kaiser - 17:02.38
Antonio Carter - 17:04.16
Tennessee Women's Individual Results (2 mile)
Chelsea Blaase - 10:31.35
Alexis Panisse - 11:12.37
Amirah Johnson - 11:40.78
Caroline Duer - 12:13.09
Anna Jernigan - 13:03.04
Julia Petree - 14:16.37
Players Mentioned
