- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga cross country and track and field head coach Andy Meyer announced his first signing class since taking over the Mocs programs.
His first addition is a former student-athlete of Meyer’s from Dalton State College. Emily Poole will transfer to Chattanooga for her two final collegiate seasons.
Other additions will be incoming freshmen Jake Ethridge and Sophia Neglia.
Poole is a two-time SSAC cross country champion for Dalton State and was named an NAIA All-American both years as a Roadrunner with Top 30 finishes. She was named the SSAC Freshman of the year in 2015 and followed that with an SSAC Runner of the Year title the next season. As a freshman on the track team, she was the 1500 meter and 5000 meter champion.
In high school at Heritage in Ringgold, Ga., Poole was the Region 7-AAAA 1600 meter and 3200 meter champion in 2015 and placed runner-up as a junior. She is the school record holder in the 3200 meter at Hertiage. In her freshman year, she helped the Generals to the 2011 cross country state title and three straight region titles. In 2012 and 2013, Heritage finished Runner-Up at the Georgia State Championships.
She graduated third in her class at Heritage with a 3.0 GPA and was a member of the Honor Roll. She is the daughter of Kevin and Beth Poole and has four siblings: Taylor, Catie Beth, Jessie and Matthew.
Neglia comes to UTC from Dobyns-Bennett High School. She is a three-time all-conference and all-region performer in cross country and was a member of the seventh place 4x800 meter relay team in 2013. The Indians cross country team finished state runner-up this past fall and claimed the conference and region titles.
As a member of the Barracuda Swim Club, she was a six-time Southeastern Championship qualifier and in 2013 was a state qualifier. Neglia is an AP Scholar and is currently ranked eighth in a class of 573 students with a 4.477 weighted GPA.
She is the daughter of Chris and Katerina Neglia and the older sister to Sasha and Joe. Her father Chris ran cross country and track for LaSalle. She plans to major in Chemistry.
Ethridge comes to Chattanooga from Oak Ridge High School. He was named all-state this past fall at the TSSAA Cross Country State Championships and claimed the Region 2 title. In the regular season, he won the Wendy’s Boys Open race and was the title winner of the Cherokee Invitational. Ethridge served as the team captain for two seasons, was the 2016 Oak Ridge Cross Country Coaches Award winner and a two-time recipient of the ORXC Most Competitive Award.
Last spring, he was a member of the Wildcats’ 4x800 meter relay team that placed seventh at the state championships. In both 2014 and 2015, the 4x800 meter relay team participated in the New Balance Indoor Nationals.
Ethridge is a member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit Commended Student. He received the AP Scholar with Honor Award and was the ORXC Scholar Athlete.
His father Allen ran cross country and track for the University of the South and his mother was an NAIA Academic All-American as a member of the Belmont cross country and track and field teams. His sister Adrian is a graduate of UNC Asheville where she ran cross country and track for the Bulldogs.
The Mocs track and field team opens the 2017 indoor season this Friday at Vanderbilt.