University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Blue Ridge Open
Upstate Returns to Action Friday at Blue Ridge Open
10/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Spartanburg, S.C. – After nearly three weeks away from competition, the USC Upstate cross country teams return to the course Friday afternoon as it takes part in the Blue Ridge Open hosted by Appalachian State.
Upstate is returning to ASU State Farm Fields for the second time this season after opening the year at the Covered Bridge Open Aug. 30. The men and women both posted top five finishes at the season opener. Ross Oden and Anastasia Kolesnitchenko recorded identical 19th place finishes individually.
"This should be a good meet for us," said associate head coach Carson Blackwelder. "We are looking to improve our performances from the last time out. We have seen this course once before in our first meet of the season. The team is familiar with the course and the challenges of it."
The last time the Spartans competed was Sept. 28 at the UNC Charlotte Invitational in Charlotte, N.C. The men's team finished eighth in the event led by Oden's 23rd place finish. The women finished sixth as a team while Jasmine Polite earned a 24th place finish.
The event will consist of four races. The first race is the Women's Gold 5K starting 3 p.m., and will be followed by the Men's Gold 8K at 3:45 p.m. After the conclusion of the first two races, two more individual events will be held in the Women's Open 5K at 4:30 p.m. and Men's Open 8K at 5 p.m.
The ASU State Farm Fields is a grass course with pea gravel and asphalt at several crossings.
Upstate is one of many teams throughout the South to take part in the event. There will be 29 teams competing on the men's side and 30 for the women. The Spartans are one of three teams on both sides, along with East Tennessee State and Northern Kentucky, from the Atlantic Sun running in the meet.
A total of eight teams ranked in the latest USTFCCCA ranking will be participating in Friday's competition. On the men's side, Furman, High Point and host school Appalachian State are ranked in the top 15 of the Southeast Region, while East Tennessee State is eighth in the South Region. For the women, Duke, Furman, Elon and Appalachian State take up four of the 15 spots in the Southeast Region rankings.
"We are looking to be able to improve on those times from the beginning of the year and also just really improve as a team and our overall competitiveness," Blackwelder said. "There will be some good competition, and we are hoping to go out there and really be able to just mix it up and compete."
The Blue Ridge Open is the final meet for Upstate prior to the A-Sun Championships Nov. 2 in Nashville, Tenn.
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