Upstate Welcomes 16 Schools for this Weekend's Upstate Invitational
10/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate cross country team will be one of 17 schools competing this weekend as it plays host to the Upstate Invitational Saturday morning from the Milliken Research Center in Spartanburg.
The event is made up of two races beginning at 9 a.m. with the women's 5K followed by the men's 8K race at 9:30 a.m. Complete results will be made available on www.upstatespartans.com after the conclusion of the final race. Scoring of the Division I and Non-Division I schools will be done separately.
"We are excited to be back on our home course," said Upstate associate head coach Carson Blackwelder. "Training has been going great and we are looking for some fast times."
Four of the 17 schools competing on Saturday are ranked in the top 15 of the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Rankings. On the women's side, Wake Forest is fifth in the Southeast Region; while the Wake Forest men are 11th in the Southeast Region, Georgia Tech is seventh in the South Region, fellow A-Sun member North Florida is tenth in the South Region and Appalachian State is 13th in the Southeast Region.
Along with Upstate, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, North Florida and Appalachian State, the Upstate Invitational field consists of: Brevard, Charleston Southern, The Citadel, College of Charleston, Lees-McRae, Newberry, Presbyterian College, Spartanburg Methodist, UNC Asheville, Western Carolina, Winthrop and Wofford.
The Spartans last hosted the Upstate Invitational back in 2012 as both the men's and women's teams took home first-place finishes. Individually, current Spartan Jasmine Polite won her first career race while former runner Gilbert Kemboi placed first in the men's race.
Upstate is competing for the first time since the Winthrop/adidas Invitational held Sept. 20 in Rock Hill. Griffin Eubanks and Alex Love both helped the Spartan men to a second-place finish as Eubanks led the team with a fifth-place performance while Love placed tenth. The Upstate women finished fourth as Polite had the best showing of 13th place.
The Spartans take next weekend off before traveling to Johns Island, S.C. on Friday, Oct. 17 for the College of Charleston Invitational beginning at 5 p.m.
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