Blue Raiders compete at Commodore Classic

Men's Results (PDF) | Women's Results (PDF)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's men's cross country squad finished 14th and the women placed 19th at the Commodore Classic on Saturday. The race, held at Percy Ward Park, was MT's third competition of the season and the longest of their season so far.

For the women, Julia Kitevski proved her strength over the 6,000-meter course, leading the Blue Raiders with a time of 23:47.84 to finish 104th. Autumn Gipson (24:12.43), who had finished first among MT racers in the previous two races, was 122nd while Rachel Islam (24:21.86) came in 128th.

The final two scorers were Stephanie Smith (24:54.26) in 147th and Tressanique Hampton (152nd), who finished in 25:03.60. Hannah Northam, the Blue Raiders' final runner, finished in 27:18.51 for 196th place.

Vanderbilt ran away with the team title, putting four runners across the finish line in the top ten for a team score of 42, while Ole Miss' Katie Breathitt took home the individual championship in 21:03.23. MT had a team score of 583.

On the men's side, Robinson Simatei continued his reign as MT's No. 1 runner, finishing the 8,000-meter course in 26:01.48 for 52nd place. Alden Dixon (26:07.39) was close behind Simatei, but tailed off near the end to finish 60th. Keith Davis, the squad's lone junior was 82nd with a time of 26:28.41. Lyle Haywood (27:21.03) and Silas Taiget (27:21.81) closed out scoring in 130th and 131st place, respectively.

In his first collegiate race, MT's Daniel Ketter ran a time of 27:27.66 and Jamarious Jones (30:13.67) was the final Blue Raider across.

Fellow Sun Belt opponent Joseph Chebet (Western Kentucky) claimed the individual crown in 24:36.15 and Eastern Kentucky topped the men's team competition with a score of 32. Middle Teneesee had a team score of 407.

The Blue Raiders will compete again on Sept. 29 in Louisville, Ky., at the Greater Louisville Classic.

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