Mocs distance runners set records at Samford Invite

Chattanooga distance runner Lesley Green set a personal record and broke the Samford Invite record for the women’s 5000 meters while three men’s cross country runners topped the meet record in the same event.

Green finished second and ran the 5K in a time of 17:36.44, besting her previous indoor top time by 26.04 seconds at the Birmingham Cross Plex Friday afternoon. The previous top time for the meet was 19:19.91 set by UT Tyler’s Natasa Carcano on January 22, 2021.

“The 5K bunch ran superb for this early in the season,” Mocs head coach Andy Meyer said. “Lesley ran steady for the first half of the race and accelerated each 800 meters after that. She caught several and had a great last 600 meters.”

In the men’s 5000-meter run, Aaron Isbell, Coahulla

Creek alum Lane Hollis and Jonathan Boyd all broke the meet record. Isbell placed third overall with a time of 15:17.10. Hollis was on his heels with a time of 15:17.71 and Jonathan Boyd was fifth at 15:21.77. UT Tyler’s Lorenzo Chavez held the previous meet record of 15:21.80 set last January.

“The guys had the same race plan as Lesley,” Meyer said. “They guys all worked together and had a great second half of the race. They accelerated through the field and finished third through sixth. 800 meters into the race we held the last six spots but the guys worked hard and stayed focused and ran great.”

A pair of Walker County alums also competed for the Mocs in the meet. Hannah Dearing (LaFayette) was seventh in the women’s 5000 (20:08.44), while Jasper Wilson (Gordon Lee) was 10th in the men’s 5000 (15:38.61).