Jenna Gearing Wins “Live at the Lou” Cross Country Classic
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Senior Jenna Gearing of the Kentucky’s women’s cross country team won the “Live at the Lou” Classic Saturday morning in Louisville as the Kentucky men’s and women’s teams each finished third.
Running 5,000 meters at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, Gearing outpaced the field of 83 runners with a time of 16:51.4. She was in sixth place with less than 1,000m remaining before overtaking the lead with only 50m left. She broke the tape by less than a second over Sydney Seymour of Tennessee.
“With the last 800 to go, I was (in sixth) and going up the hill I knew I wanted to catch some girls, possibly put myself fourth or third,” Gearing said. “Going down the last straightaway I caught a girl at the turn and Hakon (assistant track coach for distance Hakon DeVries) looked at me like, ‘Sneak attack, you have this finish, sprint and go get them.’ I carried that and went with the kick, thought about all the training we’ve done and always finishing strong, and I came out on top.”
It is a special victory for Gearing, a graduate transfer from Clemson who is in her first year with the Blue and White.
“It’s my first win ever, so it is really exciting to represent Kentucky and help lead and add to the successful program we already have here,” Gearing said.
“Jenna found herself in position inside a quarter-mile to go, she could see the finish and smell how close she was,” DeVries said. “She ran them down and believed in herself to make the kick. It’s really exciting for her because she’s just scratching the surface about how good she can be for us this year.”
The Wildcats will be back in action Oct. 16 at the UAB Classic before concluding the fall season Oct. 30 at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge.
Men’s Team Report
The Kentucky men placed third among seven teams, with defending SEC champion Ole Miss winning the meet and UK only three points behind second-place Charlotte. Following the Wildcats were Tennessee, Louisville, Appalachian State and Marshall.
Freshman Matt Duvall paced the Wildcats for the second meet in a row, placing fifth overall with an 8k time of 23:51. Also scoring for the Wildcats were junior Dylan Allen, who was eighth, freshman Ethan Kern (12th), junior Trevor Warren (19th) and freshman Jonah Mitchell (29th).
“It was a really strong team race up front and the guys competed well,” DeVries said. “I thought our front group packed well. We have to work a little bit on our depth and discipline I the middle of the race. Overall, a solid job.”
Paul Arredondo of Charlotte won the meet with a time of 23:30.4. Ole Miss placed runners in the next three spots before UK’s Duvall came in fifth.
Women’s Team Report
The UK women finished in third place among the seven-team field. Notre Dame won the meet and Ole Miss was second, followed by Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisville, Charlotte and Appalachian State.
In addition to meet winner Gearing, the UK scorers were sophomore Kaylie Kenne in 11th with a time of 17:13.7, followed by freshman Tori Herman in 14th, freshman Athena Young at No. 25 and junior Kaitlyn Lacy in 29th.
“Our strategy was to be aggressive,” DeVries said. “They followed the plan and went after it, weren’t afraid to mix it up. Notre Dame and Ole Miss ran really well and we competed tough against them.”
Agate
Men’s Team Results
| 1 | Ole Miss | 28 |
| 2 | Charlotte | 69 |
| 3 | Kentucky | 72 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 78 |
| 5 | Louisville | 132 |
| 6 | Appalachian State | 141 |
| 7 | Marshall | 217 |
Men’s Individual Results (UK only)
5. Matt Duvall, 23:51.0
8. Dylan Allen, 24:09.6
12. Ethan Kern, 24:13.4
19. Trevor Warren, 24:25.3
29. Jonah Mitchell, 24:51.1
32. Patrick Schaefer, 24:55.6
46. Aaron Withrow, 25:26.2
49. Ryan Maynard, 25:36.2
56. Harper Moore, 26:12.0
Women’s team results
| 1 | Notre Dame | 47 |
| 2 | Ole Miss | 54 |
| 3 | Kentucky | 76 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 93 |
| 5 | Louisville | 124 |
| 6 | Charlotte | 165 |
| 7 | Appalachian State | 176 |
Women’s Individual Results (UK only)
1. Jenna Gearing, 16:51.4
11. Kaylie Kenne, 17:13.7
14. Tori Herman, 17:24.0
25. Athena Young, 17:39.7
29. Kaitlyn Lacy, 17:44.2
32. Rachel Boice, 17:52.1
38. Jenna Schwinghamer, 18:02.9
40. Sophie Carrier, 18:07.1
43. Kelli Walsh, 18:13.2
44. Madisyn Peeples, 18:14.7
54. Anna Guerra, 18:43.4
70. Natalie Molotky, 19:30.5
74. Sarah Wilkinson, 19:53.3
Follow along with the Cats on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
