For the first time this season UTM’s Angelina Gracian edged her teammate Shalaine Phaup in a cross country meet.

Together the two helped the UTM women finish seventh in the second annual University of Evansville Cross Country Invitational in Evansville, Ind.

The University of Southern Indiana won the women’s meet with 40 points. Louisville was second with 76 points and Creighton was third with 86 points.

“All of the girls and most of the men ran their fastest times of the season,” said Jason McKinney, UTM’s head cross country coach. “We started a slight taper for this meet, and I think that showed.”

Gracian finished the 5K in seventh place with a time of 18:45, while Phaup, who has won her last three meets, finished ninth with a time of 18:58.

“Angelina came to UT Martin as a 400-800 meters runner. Her body has matured and she is a lot stronger since high school, so it is natural for a runner to move in distance in college,” McKinney said. “However, going from 400 meters to a 5K is generally unheard of.”

McKinney said Gracian made a commitment to cross country this past spring when UTM dropped its women’s track program. “She wants to be a dominate force in this conference,” McKinney said.

Rounding out the top six for UTM was Megan Vonderheide (41st, 20:57), Mary-Tatum Ray (46th, 22:11) and Kim Van Winkle (47th, 23:43).

Gracian’s seventh-place time was the second fastest time in Skyhawk history, while Phaup's ninth-place time was the fifth fastest in Skyhawk history. Ray and Vonderheide also turned in personal records at the Evansville Invitational.

The UTM men finished eighth in the men’s 8K with 204 points. Indiana State won the meet with 31 points, while Louisville was second with 47 points.

Darrell Lewis was UTM’s top runner. He finished 24th in the meet with a time of 27:57.

Rounding out the top runners for the Skyhawks was Philip Rhodes (42nd, 29:01), Phillip Gordon (48th, 29:56); and Zac Hendrick (53rd, 31:06).

Rhodes time of 29:01 also was a personal record. The Skyhawk runners return to action tomorrow when they run in the Arkansas State Invitational in Jonesboro. The meet starts at noon.