Cross Country Opens Season With 1st and 2nd Place Finishes
September 5, 2009

The University of Texas at Tyler cross country teams opened their 2009 campaigns on Saturday with the men taking first place and the women finishing second at the UT Tyler Invitational.

The men scored 43 points in the 8K race, beating out second place Southwestern (Tex.) by seven points. The Patriots were anchored by sophomore Jeff Chandler who finished second overall with a time of 27:36.

Senior Philbert Mutuyimana (Gilbert, Ariz.) followed Chandler in third place with a time of 27:38, while junior Ross Renfroe came in at fifth place in 27 minutes and 56 seconds.

Freshman Will Krogman (Mesquite, Texas) and junior Mark Saroni (Mesquite, Texas) rounded out the scoring for UT Tyler in 16th and 17th places, respectively.

Alfred Kite of Northwood (Tex.) took home the individual title for men with a time of 26:39.

In the women’s 5K race, UT Tyler scored 45 points to finish well in front of third place Dallas and just 15 points behind winners Northwood (Tex.).

Freshman Ginny Murphy (Ovilla, Texas) was the top finisher for the Patriots in fourth place with a time 20:36. Murphy’s time moves her into second place on the school’s all-time 5K record list in just her first collegiate race.

Following Murphy was fellow freshman Jessica Waninger (Lindale, Texas) who took home seventh place with a time of 20:53. Junior Sara Hankla (Tyler, Texas) was third to finish for UT Tyler in 21 minutes and 34 seconds, which put her in ninth place.

Freshman Baylee Talaska (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Natalie Holcomb (Whitehouse, Texas) finished the scoring for UT Tyler by coming in at 12th and 13th place, respectively.

Ashley Ehrhardt of Northwood (Tex.) completed her school’s sweep of the meet’s individual titles by finishing in first place with a time of 20:07.

The Patriots will return to action on Sept. 19, when they travel to Monroe, La., to compete in the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawk Invitational.

Athletics Home Page