News
TRC Races D1 Schools at Catamount Classic
Western Carolina University- Cullowhee, North Carolina- April 19-20, 2024
Written by Gracie Dugan
On April 19-20, Tennessee Running Club traveled to Cullowhee, North Carolina, to compete in the Catamount Classic.
TRC was the only club team in attendance, and they competed against D1 teams such as Tennessee Tech, Tusculum, Wofford, Western Carolina, Lincoln Memorial, and Carson-Newman.
DAY 1
Bolstered by the beautiful scenery and mountain air, TRC athletes pushed their bodies past their limits to have a day full of PRs.
“It was so much fun to watch my teammates race so well at such a beautiful track,” said Thomas Schmiedicke.
Lyndsey Aho was first on the track for the women’s 1500m. Aho PR’ed with 5:21.22 and placed 27th overall.
Immediately after was the men's 1500m, and PRs just kept coming. Ethan Wever placed 9th overall and PR’ed with a time of 3:59.27. Not far behind Wever was Thomas Schmiedicke, who also PR’ed with a time of 4:03.90 and placed 12th. Will Johnson placed 17th and PR’ed with 4:07.92. Cam Overton placed 25th overall and PR’ed with 4:12.91. Although they did not PR, Daniel Leoni and Blake Deterding both hit 4:26 times, with 4:26.02 for Leoni and 4:26.64 for Deterding.
The next event was the men’s 5000m. Keith Wiley placed 12th overall and finished with 16:15.88. Sean Kampas placed 19th with 16:55.47. Ty Young placed 24th with 18:18.56.
DAY 2
On day 2, ESPN broadcasted the meet on ESPN+. Fellow TRC members were able to watch their teammates race the men’s 800m live. Although being on TV can be nerve-wrecking, Daniel Leoni did not let the cameras shake his performance.
“I was so focused on racing that I didn’t even think about how the race was being broadcasted, the only way it affected me was that I had to make sure I didn’t run in front of the camera during warmups,” said Leoni.
Blake Deterding placed 25th overall in the men’s 800m with a time of 2:01.31, Thomas Schmiedicke placed 26th with 2:02.04, and Daniel Leoni placed 32rd overall with 2:05.42. TRC club members had a scare as they saw their coach, Scott Greeves, stagger off the track with almost 300m to go due to an injury. Club members hope for a speedy recovery for their coach.
More information about the meet can be found at https://www.tfrrs.org/results/84081/Catamount_Classic.
