NASHVILLE — Tennessee State men's and women's cross country will close the regular season Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Swags Louisville Cross Country Classic at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Both Tiger squads will compete in the Silver races. The men's 8,000-meter race begins at 11:30 a.m. ET/10:30 a.m. CT, followed by the women's 5,000-meter race at 12:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. CT. Live results will be available through Flash Results.

Saturday marks Tennessee State's fourth meet of the season and its final competition before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. The Tigers return to the course one week after competing at the Michael Pretorius Invitational in Nashville.

LAST TIME OUT

Landon Gragg and Jurnee Rutherford led Tennessee State at The Hermitage on Sept. 26 as both teams finished fourth.

Gragg paced the men in their first 8K of the season, placing 18th in 28:06.54. Maxwell Myers followed in 19th at 28:12.53, giving TSU two finishers separated by fewer than six seconds. Delton White finished 21st in 28:32.57, Aaron Davis placed 22nd in 28:44.57, and Eric Brannon completed the scoring five in 23rd at 29:22.82. The Tigers totaled 103 points.

Rutherford led the women with a 21st-place finish in 22:03.46. Haley Blades followed in 24th at 23:57.78, while Justice Scott placed 26th in 24:23.77. Maleia Ali, Keaira Smith and Chelsea Knox completed TSU's lineup. The women finished with 114 points.

BUILDING TOWARD THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Tiger men will get another opportunity at the 8K distance Saturday after opening the season with two 5K competitions.

Earlier this fall, Tennessee State captured the Legacy Series Invitational team title in Huntsville, Alabama, placing five runners inside the top 10. Brannon led that effort with a runner-up finish and a personal-best 16:59.3. Myers placed fifth, followed by White in sixth, Marcel Lake in ninth and Gragg in 10th.

Rutherford continues to lead the young women's squad. After running 23:51.7 at the Legacy Series Invitational, she lowered her time to 22:03.46 at The Hermitage. Rutherford and Davis entered the season as Tennessee State's representatives on the OVC Runners to Watch lists.

ABOUT THE MEET

The 25th annual Swags Louisville Cross Country Classic is expected to welcome nearly 1,700 collegiate runners from programs across 19 states. The meet features six college races and a field spanning NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA competition.

E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park has hosted multiple national championship meets, including the NCAA Division I Championships in 2012, 2015 and 2017.

UP NEXT

Tennessee State will turn its attention to the OVC Championships on Friday, Oct. 30, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.