Guillou, Hammond Lead Tracksters at NCAA South Regional

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's four-member contingent ran very well Saturday at the NCAA South Regional in Gainesville, Fla., with junior Jonathan Guillou leading the way with a 36th-place finish.

Guillou placed 38th in the 140-competitor field in 32:02.99 on the 10K course at the University of Florida Golf Course. Senior Derek Dell was only 30 seconds behind, finishing 52nd in 32:35.06. Guillou and Dell finished 1-2 for the Blue Raiders in all seven races this season.

"Jonathan and Derek ran very well against a very strong field," Hayes said. "The region is much stronger this year than it has been in a few years.

"At 8K, Jonathan had the second fastest time of his career, so to say he ran well would really be an understatement. Derek was right behind and really all of the Sun Belt had a good day with [South Alabama's Tonny] Okello winning the race and [USA's Vincent] Rono coming in fifth."

Freshman Kaitlyn Hammond led the women, running probably her best race of the year at the longer distance, 6K, placing 59th among 171 competitors in 22:45.43. Fellow freshman Ashley Comstock finished in 22:54.27 for 69th. It marked the first time this season someone other than Comstock was the top finisher in a race for the women's team.

"Both of the girls ran well and finished about where I though they would," Hayes said. "It was a very good experience for both and it also really gave me a better understanding of distances for both [runners] come track season."

Full results from the meet may be found at gatorzone.com.

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