Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Cross Country Sweeps C-USA Championships
11/1/2021 5:00:00 PM | Football, General, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Soccer, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee's track and field program continued their long track record of success, with both the men's and women's cross country teams securing C-USA titles over the weekend at the C-USA Championships in Charlotte, N.C.
The women earned their third consecutive conference title, led by the strong run of Eusila Chepkemei, who finished third with a time of 21:06.1, earning first team all conference honors in the process. The Blue Raiders won the meet by 25 points against their nearest competitor, UNC Charlotte, with all five scoring Blue Raiders finishing within the top 15.
The men's race, however, came down to just a single point, with the Blue Raiders once again beating the 49ers. Charlotte took an early lead with the top two places in the event, but were outdone by the consistency of coach Keith Vroman's squad at MT, who placed all five of his scoring runners within the top 13, led by an eighth place finish from Hillary Kimaiyo. It was MT's second men's conference title in three years.
Between the men's and women's programs, Middle Tennessee has won five of the last six C-USA cross country championships.
"Men's team ran very smart and delivered their best results of the year, perfect timing," Vroman, who was named conference coach of the year for the second time in three seasons, said after the meet. "There were some very talented teams to contend with today. Charlotte is ranked high in the southeast region, UTEP has beat us twice this year. North Texas and Rice have been running good, too. Probably the strongest top five programs I've seen at the conference championships.
"The women went in as a solid favorite to win and ran like it. Another great team performance after watching the men win. It was nice being able to run our race and follow the pre-race game plan."
All five scoring runners made an all-conference team following the meet, with Chepkemei, Naomy Limatukei and Joice Jebor all making the first-team on the women's side. Limatukei was also named Freshman of the Meet, while Chepkemi took home Outstanding Senior of the Meet honors. All five scoring men were named to the second-team all-conference.
Both teams will move onto the NCAA Regionals in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday, November 12.
Rivalry Week on tap for Blue Raider football
It's a big week for Blue Raider football, as Middle Tennessee will make the trip 100 miles north to take on rival Western Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 2:30 pm on Stadium.
Led by quarterback Bailey Zappe, the Hilltopper offense is one of the most prolific in the nation, leading the country in passing yards per game, and third for the country in total offense. WKU averages 40.5 points a game, and are coming off their third straight win, a 45-13 drubbing of Charlotte.
"If they get 80 or 90 plays a game, they're going to throw it 60 times," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "They throw to set up the run. They're going to try to get 75 to 100 yards rushing a game, but they want to throw for 400 plus."
Zappe joined the program this year after following his offensive coordinator, Zach Kittley, from Houston Baptist, alongside his top wideout Jerreth Sterns. Kittley is one of the hottest air raid aficionados in coaching circles today, learning under former Texas Tech and current Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury as a GA, before helping lead the Huskies to top offenses at the FCS level.
"They spread you out," Stockstill said of the air raid scheme. "They're going to run four verticals, they're going to run the screen game, they're going to motion a guy behind the quarterback and throw bubble screens to him. They try to spread you out and get you in space, and then if you miss a tackle here, a five yard completion turns into a 20 yard completion."
Senior Night victory propels Soccer into C-USA tournament
Following a 3-2 victory over Marshall on Thursday night at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium, Middle Tennessee soccer secured third place in the C-USA East Division, earning a bye from the play-in game and a match up with Rice, the No. 2 seed from the C-USA West Division, on Wednesday this week.
Kirstine Lykke earned her first career brace against the Thundering Herd, picking up C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors in the process. While Peyton DePriest continued to cement her name in the C-USA record books, scoring the game's opening goal to earn two points, making her the conference's all time points leader with 124 points in her career.
Today, DePriest was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career, while earning First Team All-conference honors as well. Senior midfielder Sam DeBien made the All C-USA Second Team, while freshman defender Sascha Nielsen earned an all-freshman team nod.
The Blue Raiders matchup with the Owls is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday. FAU is the host institution for this year's C-USA women's soccer tournament.
Women's Basketball dominates first exhibition
Fans got their first glimpse of the 2021-22 Lady Raiders last Friday, as Middle Tennessee dominated the final 30 minutes in the Murphy Center to triumph over Lane College 103-49.
Six different Lady Raiders finished the evening with at least 10 points, with 11 players scoring on the night for Middle Tennessee. Leading the way was freshman Jalynn Gregory, who finished with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including a 4-for-6 clip beyond the arc. Courtney Whitson posted a double double (11 points, 11 rebounds), while freshman point guard Courtney Blakely led the team off the bench with 14 points, while also dishing out a team-high six assists, including this one off an ankle breaker on the break up court.
The Lady Raiders are back in action this week at home for their final exhibition of the season, taking on UT Southern on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The women earned their third consecutive conference title, led by the strong run of Eusila Chepkemei, who finished third with a time of 21:06.1, earning first team all conference honors in the process. The Blue Raiders won the meet by 25 points against their nearest competitor, UNC Charlotte, with all five scoring Blue Raiders finishing within the top 15.
The men's race, however, came down to just a single point, with the Blue Raiders once again beating the 49ers. Charlotte took an early lead with the top two places in the event, but were outdone by the consistency of coach Keith Vroman's squad at MT, who placed all five of his scoring runners within the top 13, led by an eighth place finish from Hillary Kimaiyo. It was MT's second men's conference title in three years.
Between the men's and women's programs, Middle Tennessee has won five of the last six C-USA cross country championships.
"Men's team ran very smart and delivered their best results of the year, perfect timing," Vroman, who was named conference coach of the year for the second time in three seasons, said after the meet. "There were some very talented teams to contend with today. Charlotte is ranked high in the southeast region, UTEP has beat us twice this year. North Texas and Rice have been running good, too. Probably the strongest top five programs I've seen at the conference championships.
"The women went in as a solid favorite to win and ran like it. Another great team performance after watching the men win. It was nice being able to run our race and follow the pre-race game plan."
All five scoring runners made an all-conference team following the meet, with Chepkemei, Naomy Limatukei and Joice Jebor all making the first-team on the women's side. Limatukei was also named Freshman of the Meet, while Chepkemi took home Outstanding Senior of the Meet honors. All five scoring men were named to the second-team all-conference.
Both teams will move onto the NCAA Regionals in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday, November 12.
It's a sweep! 🧹🧹🧹@MT_TrackField wins both the Men's & Women's 2021 #CUSAXC Championships! 🏆🏆#BlueRaiders | #TheCUSAWay pic.twitter.com/2r1XKUeVAx
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) October 30, 2021
Rivalry Week on tap for Blue Raider football
It's a big week for Blue Raider football, as Middle Tennessee will make the trip 100 miles north to take on rival Western Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 2:30 pm on Stadium.
Led by quarterback Bailey Zappe, the Hilltopper offense is one of the most prolific in the nation, leading the country in passing yards per game, and third for the country in total offense. WKU averages 40.5 points a game, and are coming off their third straight win, a 45-13 drubbing of Charlotte.
"If they get 80 or 90 plays a game, they're going to throw it 60 times," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "They throw to set up the run. They're going to try to get 75 to 100 yards rushing a game, but they want to throw for 400 plus."
Zappe joined the program this year after following his offensive coordinator, Zach Kittley, from Houston Baptist, alongside his top wideout Jerreth Sterns. Kittley is one of the hottest air raid aficionados in coaching circles today, learning under former Texas Tech and current Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury as a GA, before helping lead the Huskies to top offenses at the FCS level.
"They spread you out," Stockstill said of the air raid scheme. "They're going to run four verticals, they're going to run the screen game, they're going to motion a guy behind the quarterback and throw bubble screens to him. They try to spread you out and get you in space, and then if you miss a tackle here, a five yard completion turns into a 20 yard completion."
Senior Night victory propels Soccer into C-USA tournament
Following a 3-2 victory over Marshall on Thursday night at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium, Middle Tennessee soccer secured third place in the C-USA East Division, earning a bye from the play-in game and a match up with Rice, the No. 2 seed from the C-USA West Division, on Wednesday this week.
Kirstine Lykke earned her first career brace against the Thundering Herd, picking up C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors in the process. While Peyton DePriest continued to cement her name in the C-USA record books, scoring the game's opening goal to earn two points, making her the conference's all time points leader with 124 points in her career.
EAAAT Kirstine Lykke! First career brace for the phenomenal freshman!#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/khHj1rNsd5
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) October 29, 2021
The C-USA points record-breaker from No. 12, @PeyDepriest!#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/44wOKk0x39
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) October 29, 2021
Today, DePriest was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career, while earning First Team All-conference honors as well. Senior midfielder Sam DeBien made the All C-USA Second Team, while freshman defender Sascha Nielsen earned an all-freshman team nod.
The Blue Raiders matchup with the Owls is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday. FAU is the host institution for this year's C-USA women's soccer tournament.
Women's Basketball dominates first exhibition
Fans got their first glimpse of the 2021-22 Lady Raiders last Friday, as Middle Tennessee dominated the final 30 minutes in the Murphy Center to triumph over Lane College 103-49.
Six different Lady Raiders finished the evening with at least 10 points, with 11 players scoring on the night for Middle Tennessee. Leading the way was freshman Jalynn Gregory, who finished with 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including a 4-for-6 clip beyond the arc. Courtney Whitson posted a double double (11 points, 11 rebounds), while freshman point guard Courtney Blakely led the team off the bench with 14 points, while also dishing out a team-high six assists, including this one off an ankle breaker on the break up court.
Q4 | @cabblakely1 breaks ankles, @graciedodgen4 nails the corner 3.
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) October 29, 2021
Blue Raiders waaaay up. pic.twitter.com/ASB0vC2bL6
The Lady Raiders are back in action this week at home for their final exhibition of the season, taking on UT Southern on Thursday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country and Track & Field
M/F
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
/ Women's Cross Country and Track & Field
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
/ Women's Cross Country and Track & Field
M/F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerA look back: 1965 and 1985 Undefeated Blue Raider Football Teams
Wednesday, September 17
MTSU Football at Nevada cinematic recap – 9/13/25
Tuesday, September 16
True Blue Testimonials - Caroline Macander MTSU Volleyball Setter - Presented by MMC
Tuesday, September 16
Blue Raider Notebook Presented by TOA - September 15th
Monday, September 15
