Upstate Set To Run In The USC Upstate Invitational Saturday
10/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate will play host
to a combined 21 teams in Saturday's USC Upstate Invitational meet
at the Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg. The meet will not
only serve as Upstate's final regular season meet, it will also be
a precursor to the A-Sun Championships being held at Milliken on
Oct. 30.
Upstate will be joined by A-Sun foes ETSU, Mercer and North
Florida. Results will be posted on www.upstatespartans.com after
the conclusion of both races.
Kemboi, Tangwar Set School Records
Not only have Gilbert Kemboi and Joan Tangwar lowered their times
in each race this season, they have also managed to lower the
school records with outstanding efforts in the Greater Louisville
Classic on Oct. 2.
Kemboi ran the 8k race in a time of 23:22.28, eclipsing his own
school record of 23:58.79 set while winning the Clemson
Invitational. Kemboi finished third out of 323 runners at the
Greater Louisville Classic, finishing ahead of the fourth-place
finisher in last year's NCAA Division I Championships. The time was
the lowest in the A-Sun this year.
Tangwar ran the 5k in a time of 17:25.36, eclipsing her own time
of 17:38.14 set during the Clemson Invitational. She finished 13th
in a strong field of 302 runners, finishing ahead of all A-Sun
runners in the meet. The time was the second-lowest in the A-Sun
this year.
Kemboi Featured In Sports
Illustrated
Men's runner Gilbert Kemboi was featured in the "Faces in the
Crowd" section of the Oct. 4 issue of Sports Illustrated
for his outstanding accomplishments this season. The magazine
featured him for shaving 47 seconds off of his own meet record at
the Eye Opener in September and for winning the Clemson
Invitational. He is the first Upstate cross country runner to ever
appear in the magazine, and is the first Upstate student-athlete
featured in the magazine since moving to NCAA Division I in 2007.
Current freshman softball pitcher Hannah Alexander was honored in
the magazine's "Face in the Crowd" section for her accomplishments
last spring at North Davidson High School.
Kemboi A Top 5 Kind Of Guy
Through three races this season, Gilbert Kemboi has yet to finish
out of the top five. He won the first two races of the season, the
Eye Opener at Milliken and the Clemson Invitational, prior to
finishing third at the Greater Louisville Classic.
Dennison Makes Huge Leap
Prior to the Greater Louisville Classic on Oct. 2, sophomore Davey
Dennison's top time in the 8k was 25:49.00 set this year at the Eye
Opener. However, he lowered that personal best by nearly 21 seconds
at the Greater Louisville Classic, turning in a time of 25:28.06.
It was also the second-fastest Upstate time in the meet behind
Gilbert Kemboi's 23:22.28 effort.
Tangwar Proving Early Success Was No Fluke
When Joan Tangwar won the Eye Opener to start the season, she was
the third different Upstate runner to win the event in the last
three years. She has proven that the win in the meet was no fluke
and has continued to give strong performances. She finished second
at the Clemson Invitational and set a school record while finishing
13th at the Greater Louisville Classic in a strong field of 302
runners.
Spartan Women Lower Their Marks
When the women's race at the Greater Louisville Classic was
finished, seven of Upstate's women's runners lowered their times on
the season. Mary Alexander had the biggest improvement, lowering
her season-best time by nearly 31 seconds. She ran the 5k in
19:50.27, shaving more than half a minute off of her previous top
time of 20:21.00 in the Eye Opener.
In addition to Alexander, Carolyne Chelulei, Jessica Davis,
Jillian Finney, Jemeli Sang, Joan Tangwar and Laura Transue each
lowered their season-best times as well.
Kemboi Shines At Clemson Invitational
Gilbert Kemboi continued a strong start to the season by winning
the Clemson Invitational on Sept. 17. The sophomore won the 8k
event with a then-school record time of 23:58.79. It marked his
second win of the season after claiming the title at the Eye Opener
meet on Sept. 5.
Three Years, Three Winners At The Eye Opener
Joan Tangwar crossed the finish line with a time of 18:02.00 to
win the Eye Opener meet to start the season in early September. She
became the third different Upstate runner to win the championship
on the women's side in the last three years. Older sister, Emily,
won the meet in 2008, while Carolyne Chelulei took home the title
last year. Joan Tangwar's time also established a new meet record,
shaving seven seconds off of the previous record.
Spartans Sweep Eye Opener Championships
In the first meet of the season, Upstate runners Gilbert Kemboi
and Joan Tangwar claimed the men's and women's championships of the
Eye Opener meet at the Milliken Research Park.
Kemboi claimed the men's title in a time of 24:13,00 (8k),
smashing the meet record by 47 seconds. Tangwar won the
championship with a time of 18:02.00 (5k) to better the record by
seven seconds.
Atlantic Sun Coaches Poll
Upstate's men's and women's cross country teams are among the
A-Sun leaders in the latest A-Sun Coaches Poll released earlier
this week.
The men's team is ranked second in the poll with 106 points,
trailing first place Kennesaw State (12). Belmont was third with 98
points and was followed by Lipscomb (78), ETSU (71), North Florida
(70), Florida Gulf Coast (55), Mercer (48), Campbell (47),
Jacksonville (18) and Stetson (15).
The Upstate women's team finds itself ranked fourth in the latest
poll with 95 points. Jacksonville is the top-ranked team with 117
points and is followed by North Florida (105), Lipscomb (97),
Upstate, Belmont (73), Kennesaw State (60), Florida Gulf Coast
(56), Campbell (46), Mercer (41), ETSU (24) and Stetson (12).
