Blaase Takes 1st Place At Louisville Classic

Blaase shines in season debut as UT women take 4th; Long leads men to 14th-place finish

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Senior Chelsea Blaase took first place in her season debut to lead the Tennessee women's cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Freshman Zach Long led the UT men to a 14th-place showing in a loaded 8K race.

With rain and temperatures in the 50s, Blaase and the UT women enjoyed a strong showing in their 5K race. Blaase took first in 17:04.50, beating second-place Maggie Drazba (West Virginia) by 32 seconds. Blaase now has three first-place showings in her career and has finished in the top 10 in each of her last 11 races. She has also placed in the top three in eight of her last 11.

"It was a great opener for Chelsea," Tennessee Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "She felt great, looked great and was very in control. It was her first race since last June at the USA trials and we're very proud of how she looked. She was very smooth and it is exciting to see where the season will take her."

Freshman Jessica Rizor posted an impressive seventh-place showing at 18:03.87. She was UT's top finisher in each of the previous two races and continued to make strides on Saturday.

"Jessica ran a great race, very competitive all the way through and caught some people down the home stretch," Sullivan said. "She did a tremendous job as a true freshman, stepped up, got her nose into it and ran really well."

Freshman Julia Rizor finished 23rd overall with a time of 18:26.38 in her collegiate debut. Freshmen Emma Reed (41st, 18:44.15) and Abby McCulla (51st, 18:55.34) rounded out the Vols' top five.

The Tennessee men started the day in the cold with temperatures barely reaching 50 degrees for their 9:30 a.m. start. UT exceeded expectations with a top-15 showing in a strong field of 24 teams.

"We were really pleased with the outcome on the guys' side," Sullivan said. "We weren't perfect today, but we were much much better than we were two weeks ago. We had a nice pack."

Long led UT for the first time, clocking in at 25:06.83 for 78th. Seniors Kyle Walter (91st, 25:17.22) and Jack Little (98th, 25:20.64) were not far behind. Freshmen Wesley Robinson (120th, 25:38.47) and Brad Swiney (130th, 25:47.90) rounded out UT's top five.

"Zach Long pulled off the no. 1 spot today, but right with him were the two seniors, Jack Little and Kyle Walter, for a very nice pack of three right there," Sullivan said. "Then you had Brad Swiney coming on and Wesley Robinson coming on with some really competitive running out of these guys in just their second five-mile race. I was very impressed with them. We were happy with the top-15 finish and the energy was very positive."

Both teams will return to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park on Oct. 17 for Pre-Nationals. That will be Tennessee's final meet before the SEC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 30 in College Station, Texas.