The UTM men's and women's cross country teams each finished third in this past weekend's King Cat Invitational in Memphis at Plough Park.

Shalaine Phaup led the Skyhawk women in the two-mile run with her fourth-place finish in 12:13.20.

Skyhawk Michelle McCormack finished 12th with a time of 13:05.27, while teammate Angelina Gracian was 13th with a time of 13:07.38.

Rounding out the finish for the Skyhawks were Cathy Bennett with her time of 14:17.04 (22nd); Megan Vonderheide, 14:26.54 (24th); Kelli Bosch, 15:07.53 (32nd); and Hannah Clawson, 15:43.42 (34th).

“Shalaine Phaup showed the most improvement over last year by placing fourth in this meet,” said UTM cross country coach Jason McKinney. “This was her best ever finish in a college meet.”

“The women's team is fighting through injuries, and we will have stronger fourth and fifth runners once we can start running healthy,” McKinney said.

The Rhodes Lynx won the King Cat Invitational team title with a one-two finish from Marie Brandewiede and Amy Paine. Murray State finished second. Brandewiede's time was 11:42.26, while Paine's time was 11:44.22.

On the men's side, Robby Clapper led the Skyhawks with a 13th place finish.

His time was 22:58.92 in the four-mile race. Derrick Kenwright was second for the Skyhawks and 16th overall with his time of 23:09.78.

“Derrick Kenwright, a freshman, showed that he will be a major contributor to this year's team by being our second runner,” McKinney said.

“The men's team has a strong pack which is crucial in placing well at the conference. Each week, the order of finish will be different, which means we have depth.”

Jeremy Coltharp was 21st in the meet with a time of 23:37.69, while Philip Rhodes and Ryan Wilson finished 24th and 25th respectively. Rhodes' time was 23:43.11, while Wilson's time was 23:44.21.

Darrrell Lewis was 27th with his time of 23:56.69, while Phillip Gordon was 37th with his time of 24:47.55. Mitchell Phy and Zac Hedrick also ran in the meet for the Skyhawks. Phy finished in 27:31.95, while Hedrick finished in 28:04.37.

Balazs Laszio, a senior from the University of Memphis, won the meet for the second consecutive year. He crossed the finish line in 20:37.09, almost a minute faster than his winning time of a year ago.

Murray State claimed the team title by placing four of its runners in the top six. Rhodes College was second in the meet, while UTM was third.

The Skyhawks will travel to Irvine, Calif. this week for the Irvine Invitational.