Women's Cross Country
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- cblackwelder@uscupstate.edu
- Phone:
- 864-503-5043
Carson Blackwelder is entering his 18th year with the USC Upstate cross country and track & field programs and his 11th season as head coach, following five years as associate head coach and two years as an assistant coach.
Since joining the Spartans in 2009, Blackwelder has helped take USC Upstate to new heights across cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field, while building a program rooted in competitive success, academic achievement and student-athlete growth.
Under Blackwelder’s leadership, the Spartans have continued to make significant strides in the Big South Conference. In 2025, the USC Upstate men’s cross country team finished fourth at the Big South Championship, marking the program’s highest finish at the conference meet since joining the league. Multi-year standout Sam Shimanskiy finished 11th in the 8K, becoming the first USC Upstate men’s cross country runner to earn All-Conference honors since the Spartans became members of the Big South.
The success has carried over to the track as well. During the 2025-26 indoor season, the USC Upstate men’s track & field team finished third overall with 206 points, the program’s highest Big South indoor finish and highest point total in its indoor history. At the 2026 Big South Outdoor Championships, the men’s team finished third with 122.5 points, recording the second-most points ever scored by the program at the outdoor championship meet. The Spartans also finished as the Big South outdoor runner-up in both 2025 and 2024.
Blackwelder, the Big South Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2023, has helped tutor several highly decorated Spartan standouts in recent seasons. Rachel Davis, a Big South Woman of the Year nominee, and Jessa Beach both earned qualifying spots in the NCAA East Regional after standout performances at the Big South Outdoor Championship.
Davis qualified in both the women’s hammer and discus, while Beach earned a regional spot in the women’s hammer for the second consecutive season. Davis also became just the second Big South athlete to win gold in the hammer, discus and shot put at the same championship meet, earning Most Valuable Athlete honors. In 2025, Blackwelder also helped guide Joshua Sterling, who competed at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships and finished 17th.
The USC Upstate record books reflect the program’s growth under Blackwelder’s direction. Of the 252 entries in the USC Upstate cross country record book, roughly 75 percent have occurred during his time as either an assistant or head coach. On the track & field side, more than 95 percent of the program’s Division I record-book performances have come during his tenure.
Blackwelder has also been instrumental in growing the program off the course and track and throughout the Spartanburg community. He has played a key role in the annual Josh Lee Memorial 5K, helping raise hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years, including a record-breaking $120,000 in 2025, with nearly 500 participants.
His leadership has also helped elevate USC Upstate’s ability to host championship-level events. In collaboration with OneSpartanburg, Inc., the program’s growth has helped position USC Upstate as a host site for the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regional multiple times, bringing some of the top collegiate distance runners to Spartanburg.
Academically, Blackwelder’s teams have consistently ranked among USC Upstate’s strongest programs. The cross country and track & field student-athletes have continued to excel in team GPA, individual academic honors and graduation rates, reflecting a program-wide commitment to achievement in the classroom as well as in competition.
Blackwelder’s early years at USC Upstate helped establish the foundation for the program’s success. He led the men’s cross country program to its first two Atlantic Sun Conference championships and was named A-Sun Coach of the Year in 2011 after the men earned the program’s first conference championship while Gilbert Kemboi captured individual champion honors. Blackwelder received A-Sun Coach of the Year honors again in 2012 as the men recorded their second straight conference championship and Kemboi won the individual title for the third consecutive year. Kemboi later earned All-Southeast Region accolades with a sixth-place finish and advanced to the NCAA National Championship, where he placed 42nd as an individual.
In 2011, the USC Upstate women posted their best finish at the A-Sun Championship with a fourth-place showing while sweeping the top three individual spots, led by Jemeli Sang’s individual championship. She was followed by Joan Tangwar and Carolyne Chelulei. On the men’s side, both Davey Dennison and Christian Ritacco earned All-Conference accolades. The Spartans also recorded their best showings at the NCAA Southeast Regional that season, with the women finishing 17th out of 32 teams and the men placing 22nd out of 34. Tangwar, Sang and Kemboi each earned All-Southeast Region honors.
Kemboi earned the first of his three straight A-Sun individual championship victories in 2010 as USC Upstate had seven total runners collect postseason awards. The women had three athletes — Tangwar, Chelulei and Sang — named All-Conference, while Dennison earned Second Team All-Conference honors and Andrew Kipchumba was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
In his first season with the Spartans in 2009, Blackwelder coached a pair of All-Conference women and a male A-Sun Freshman of the Year honoree.
Overall, Blackwelder has coached numerous All-Conference performers, Runners of the Year, All-Freshman Team selections, All-Southeast Region honorees and NCAA postseason qualifiers. Upstate has also excelled in the classroom under his guidance, with Kemboi receiving several academic honors, including A-Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2011 and 2012, A-Sun Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 2013, A-Sun and NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship honors in 2013, Capital One Academic All-District recognition in 2013 and USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country All-Academic Team honors in 2013. Sang was also named USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country All-Academic in 2011.
Blackwelder arrived at USC Upstate after spending the 2008-09 season at Morehead State. At MSU, he was responsible for all facets of the program, including recruiting, workout regimens, budget, travel and fundraising.
At Morehead State, Blackwelder coached two individuals who earned cross-country All-Conference honors, while his women’s track & field and cross-country teams were recognized as All-Academic teams. He also coached the school’s 8K record holder.
Prior to Morehead State, Blackwelder spent three years as an assistant coach at Appalachian State. His primary duties included serving as recruiting coordinator for the cross-country program while also working as the strength and conditioning coach for the team’s distance runners.
During his tenure at Appalachian State, the cross country and track & field programs won five men’s conference titles, three women’s conference titles and four Southern Conference individual track & field championships. The Mountaineers also had 12 individuals earn All-Conference honors in track & field and 11 earn All-Conference honors in cross country. Two individuals were named All-Region in cross country, and four were regional qualifiers in track & field.
A native of Concord, N.C., Blackwelder was a standout at Appalachian State as a member of the cross country and track & field programs. He was a two-time All-Southern Conference selection and team MVP in cross country. He also earned All-Conference accolades in indoor track. In outdoor track & field, Blackwelder helped the Mountaineers win four straight conference championships.
Blackwelder resides in Spartanburg, S.C., with his wife, Ashley, and their two daughters, Carter and Linley.
