1970 Cross Country

Head Coach: Chuck Rohe
Assistant Coach: Connie Smith
Regular Season: 9 Wins, 1 Loss
SEC:  3rd
NCAA:  Did Not Compete
Members of Tennessee’s 1970 cross country team were Captains Owen Self and Danny Zoeller, Doug Brown, Denis Flood, Bill Herron, David Houchin, Guy Kirton, Mark McDevitt, Dan O’Connor, and Norman Pelletier. As in 1969, Coach Rohe turned the cross country team over to Connie Smith for day-to-day coaching purposes and allowed him to take credit for the results.

The Vols defeated Western Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, Fisk and Vanderbilt in the Old Hickory Invitational. They also defeated Western Carolina, Furman, Virginia Tech, East Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech during the regular season, but lost a dual meet to Kentucky. They finished third in the SEC cross country meet and chose not to compete in the NCAA meets.
 
The 1970 SEC cross country meet was held in Birmingham, Alabama, on a 4.065 mile course. Tennessee runners finished third.  It was the first time since 1962 that they had not been SEC champions. Top finishers for Tennessee were:
1970 CROSS COUNTRY
Place Name Time
3 Doug Brown 18:39
4 Bill Herron 18:42
11 Owen Self 19:09
14 Dan Zoeller 19:21
15 Guy Kirton 19:24
20 Dave Houchin 19:40
35 Dan O’Connor 20:11
Tennessee did not compete as a team in the 1970 NCAA Cross Country Championships.  Even so, three UT runners went to Williamsburg, Virginia, to compete against Oregon’s Steve Prefontaine, Villanova’s Marty Liquori, and other top runners.  Their finishes and times were as follows:
1970 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Place Name Time
40 Doug Brown 29:16
113 Guy Kirton 29:59
157 Bill Herron 30:21
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