Chattanooga, Tenn. October 17, 2005 – The West Georgia Braves mens and womens cross country teams saw top competition here Saturday in their final tune-up before next weeks GSC Championships.
UWGs squads fared well against mostly Division I opponents in the FrontRunner Invitational, hosted by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The Braves women posted a third place finish, while the men came home in third place.
Pacing West Georgias womens effort was Hayley Conger, who completed the two-mile trek at 12:07 for a an eighth place finish. Next for UWG was Katie Perkins, who finished 16th at 12:36. Five other Braves runners also completed the course. Jessie Rynierson finished with a time of 12:45, Caroline Binnion posted 13:31, Julie Terrill a 13:41, Shelley Kerr a 15:21, and Jessica Gaddis 16:44.
Leading UWG in the mens race was Shawn Matthews, who finished 13th with a time of 16:53 over the hilly, five kilometer course. Right behind Matthews were Mike Brannon, who was 15th with a time of 17:13, and Danny Wiley, who was 18th at 17:27. Other UWG runners scoring were Luke Swenson (17:57) and Robert Ralston (18:24).
The stakes now get higher for UWGs runners. Coach Don Medeiros this week leads his squads into the annual Gulf South Conference Championships. The event will contested over the challenging Plough Park course in Memphis, Tenn.