ROCK HILL, S.C. – USC Upstate men's and women's cross country finally returned to competition Friday afternoon as they opened the 2021 slate at the Winthrop Invite in Rock Hill, S.C. The men saw six personal records and as a team placed fourth. The women's team also picked up a fourth place finish.

"It was a great day for a cross country race. On the men's team, we had six PR's. The guys as a group did a great job of moving up throughout the race," said head coach Carson Blackwelder. "Johnson, Loy, and Tardella moved from 20th place at the mile to 6th, 11th and 13th at the finish. It shows a lot of strength on their part."

Men's Results
6. Jonathan Johnson, 26:07.6
11. Jonathan Loy, 26:20.9 (PR)
13. Michael Tardella, 26:32.8 (PR)
31. Jared Keklak, 27:49.3 (PR)
37. Carter Sexton, 28:03.1 (PR)
48. Derek Staton, 29:06.9 (PR)
52. Lucas Campbell, 30:15.6 (PR)
57. Jeremy Gomez, 31:48.9

"The women's race was overall not a fast race, but what mattered was how the women competed and focused on beating people," Coach Blackwelder said. "They have not raced in almost a year and it was good to get tap back into the competitiveness."

Women's Results
18. Jamie Connelly, 19:37.0
23. Mia Davis, 19:49.7
29. Stecy Cherono, 20:45.2
34. Heaven Allen, 21:17.1
35. Alanie Foster, 21:20.1
48. Arianna Krcik, 22:27.6
55. Naomie Pierre, 24:02.0

UP Next for the Spartans
Upstate will return to Winthrop for the Big South Conference Championships on March 5.