Tennessee cross country came home with a self-admitted underwhelming result in the SEC championship meet at Cherokee Farm cross country course.

The best individual performers of the day were Ethan Edgeworth, who came home 25th overall, and freshman Mary Ogwoka, who finished ninth on the day.

As a whole, the men finished ninth out of 14 teams, while the Lady Vols delivered a seventh-place finish out of 16 teams.

“Not necessarily what we were coming in and hoping for,” head coach Justin Duncan said of the men’s race. “I think we were hoping to place a lot higher than that.”

“Overall, I think the women did run a really good race,” Duncan said on the women’s side. “We were hoping for a little bit better. We are a better team than we showed today.”

In the men’s 8k race, the Vols started slowly and fell to the middle of the pack early. Edgeworth led the team halfway through the race, but he was well off the pace of the leaders. He came home with a time of 24:04, just under a minute off the winning time, while Ty Steorts and Hudson Betts came up with 33rd and 34th, respectively, about ten seconds off the pace of Edgeworth.

“It was definitely not an A-plus day,” Edgeworth said. “But… I think it was a good stepping point in the right direction.”

In the women’s 6k race, all eyes were on Ogwoka, the best hope Tennessee had of winning an SEC championship. Though she came up a bit short, she placed ninth overall, collapsing past the finish line as a sign of the limits she pushed just to deliver such a result.

“Mary did a great job of putting herself in the mix of things and going for it,” Duncan said.

Her performance also caught the eye of Tennessee athletic director Danny White.

White said her performance was “big time” in a “competitive conference (and) competitive field.” He further said, “To do that as a freshman is a tremendous accomplishment.”

Three other Lady Vols finished as a pack, but nearly a minute off Ogwoka’s pace, as Andie-Marie Jones, Summer Schuster and Jaci Sievers claimed 43rd, 44th and 45th overall.

“It was a good reminder that racing is hard,” Jones said. “(But) it was a good point to build off of and get us in the right place… we still have some work to do.”

Despite the disappointing results, both Edgeworth and Jones expressed optimism, understanding that there are opportunities in front of them, and the team boasts a track record that speaks to their capabilities.

“We are still a team,” Jones said. “While this wasn’t the race we were hoping for, this isn’t what defines us. We’ve already had some really great races within the season… We know that we can still go do some big things.”

Claiming the individual SEC titles were Kelvin Cheruiyot of Florida in the men’s race, and Doris Lemngole of Alabama in the women’s race, her second consecutive win in the SEC championship meet.

The Crimson Tide took home the team title in the men’s race, while the Gators secured the team title in the women’s race.

Up next for Tennessee cross country will be the NCAA Regionals on Friday, Nov. 14.