Upstate Back in Action this Weekend at Winthrop Invitational
9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate cross country team returns to the course for the first time in two weeks Saturday morning when it participates in the 32nd annual Winthrop Invitational from the Winthrop Farm Course.
The men's 8k race begins the day's activities at 9 a.m. followed by the women's 5K run at 9:45 a.m. Awards will be presented following the meet to the top two teams and the top 10 individual finishers in each division. Admission to the event is free and parking will be available in the Winthrop Coliseum lots.
"We are looking to improve on our performances from two weeks ago," said Upstate associate head coach Carson Blackwelder. "We have had some great workouts since our last race. Our fitness has improved and we are back into race mode for the weekend."
The Spartans are one of 20 schools competing Saturday morning in Rock Hill including 17 men's teams and 20 women's squads. The race results will be recorded in the Gold (Division I) and Garnet (non-Division I) categories. The schools participating in the Gold Division are Upstate, Winthrop, Appalachian State, South Carolina and Charleston Southern. The Garnet Division schools include Allen, Auburn-Montgomery, Benedict, Claflin, Columbia College, Converse, Emmanuel, Johnson C. Smith, Morehouse, Morris, Newberry, Paine, Queens and St. Andrews.
The Spartans opened their season on Sept. 4 by winning both races at the Eye Opener Invitational in Spartanburg. The Upstate women began the day by winning the Eye Opener for the first time since 2009 and was their first team win dating back to the 2012 Upstate Invitational. The Spartan men followed by capturing the Eye Opener for the second time in three years.
Along with the two team victories, Griffin Eubanks won the men's race, the first of his career, following a time of 26:15.51. He is the third Upstate men's runner in program history to win the Eye Opener joining Ross Oden and Gilbert Kemboi.
The Spartans head back to Milliken Research Center on Saturday, Oct. 3 as they host the Upstate Invitational beginning at 9 a.m.
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