Cross Country Set for Charlotte Invite
10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Oct. 1, 2009
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Charlotte, N.C. for Friday's Charlotte Invite. The meet at McAlpine Park is slated to begin at 4:15 p.m.
The women's team looks to improve its southeast region ranking with a strong run on Friday. The Spartans are ranked 12th in the southeast in the U.S. Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association poll. That ranking is the first ever for either the men's or women's cross country teams.
At the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational on Sept. 17, three women runners finished in the top 22. Caroylne Chelulei led the way finishing just outside of the top 10. She recorded an 11th-place finish after posting a time of 17:04.60 in the 4.6k race. Jemeli Sang finished 14th with a time of 17:15.80, while teammate Joan Tangwar posted a time of 17:50.60 en route to a 22nd-place finish.
"This is a very important meet for our team," said head cross country coach Jimmy Stephens. "It is time to step up our performances as we are drawing closer to the Atlantic Sun Championships at the end of the month. There are a lot of quality teams competing at this meet and I feel it will be a good indicator of what we need to work on leading up to the conference championships."
The men's team will be lead by Gilbert Kemboi, who on the season has recorded two victories and a second place finish. The freshman's victories came at the Wofford Relays and the Eye Opener Invitational. His second place finish came at the Spartans last meet, the VT Alumni Invitational. Kemboi has also been awarded two A-Sun runner of the week awards. He is the first male Spartan to ever win a weekly award.
"Friday's meet will be a quality test for both our men's and women's team. I am excited to see what our athletes can do against such a quality field that includes teams from Clemson, South Carolina and UNC Charlotte," said assistant cross country coach Carson Blackwelder.
The men's team has also received quality performances from Christian Ritacco, James Jackson and Cameron Thomas. At the VT Alumni Invitational, Ritacco finished 23rd after posting a time of 25:14.9 in the 7.6k race. Jackson (25:44.50) and Thomas (25:46.70) finished 41st and 43rd respectively.
Following Friday's race, the Spartans will break from action until Oct. 17 when they host the USC Upstate Cross Country Invite at Milliken Research Park.
