Spartans Host 31st Running of the Eye Opener Invitational this Weekend
9/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate cross country team is set to host the 31st Annual Eye Opener Invitational this weekend from the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg.
The Eye Opener Invitational consists of two collegiate meets on Friday evening followed by the high school races Saturday morning. Complete results for both the college and high school events will be posted on upstatespartans.com.
The women's collegiate 5K race kicks off the event on Friday with a 6:30 p.m. start time and the men's collegiate 8K is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
"We are excited to compete on our home course," said associate head coach Carson Blackwelder. "The athletes know this course very well and can take advantage of it."
Upstate will be one of 21 schools throughout the Southeast competing at the Eye Opener. The Spartans are being joined by: Brenau, Coker, Converse, Davidson, Erskine, King, Limestone, Newberry, North Georgia, Piedmont, Presbyterian College, Savannah State, SCAD Savannah, South Carolina State, Southern Wesleyan, Spartanburg Methodist, Voorhees, Wake Tech CC, Wofford and Young Harris College.
The high school meet on Saturday consists of six races starting at 8 a.m. The list of events are as follows: International Girls (8 a.m.), International Boys (8:30 a.m.), Championship Girls (9 a.m.), Championship Boys (9:30 a.m.), Junior Varsity Girls (10 a.m.) and Junior Varsity Boys (10:30 a.m.). Former 1976 Olympic runner Bill Rodgers, a four-time winner of both the New York and Boston Marathons, will serve as honorary starter for the high school races.
"It will be a good meet and very competitive from all levels," Blackwelder said. "We have a good mix of Division I, III, NAIA and junior colleges."
Upstate won the men's Division I race last year after posting the top seven times in the meet. Former Spartan Ross Oden won the race as Upstate tallied 15 points, defeating second-place Presbyterian College by 40 points. On the women's side, Upstate finished second in the women's Division I race with 40 points and had three runners finish inside the top 10. Jasmine Polite led the women with a third-place performance.
The Spartans opened their season last weekend at the Covered Bridge Open in Boone, N.C., where the men finished seventh and the women 11th. Griffin Eubanks, running in his first meet at Upstate, had the highest finish for the men as he placed 31st. Polite turned in the top performance for the women with a 28th place finish.
USC Upstate will return to action Saturday, Sept. 20 when it travels to Rock Hill for the Winthrop Invitational at 9:30 a.m.
Follow Upstate cross country on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
