ANDERSON, S.C. – After a two-week layoff, the Anderson University men's and women's cross country teams will return to action Saturday at the USC Upstate Invitational, hosted by the Spartans at the Milliken Research Center.
The women's 5K event will start at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8K race at 9:45 a.m. Among the non-NCAA Division-I teams joining the Trojans on the course will be Bridgewater, Columbia, Converse, Erskine, Limestone, Newberry
Queens, USC Aiken and USC Beaufort.
The women's team remained fourth in the region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings, while the men's team stayed in the sixth spot. Both squads were idle last weekend, but will return to Spartanburg for the second time after opening the season at the USC Upstate Eye Opener in early September.
Freshman Breck Jones paced the Trojan women at the season opener, while finishing third among NCAA Division II runners. Sophomore Abigail Bozarth claimed sixth, while newcomer Morgan Bridges placed seventh. Freshman Rebecca Faircloth finished in ninth place and senior Mia Swierzs finished 14th among D-II competitors. Seniors Amber Worthy and Bari Robinson finished 20th and 22nd, respectively.
The women's team finished sixth at the Falcon Clasic two weeks ago in Montevallo, Ala., behind senior Olivia Gardner's sixth-place finish. Junior Alex Dixon crossed the line in 23rd place, with fellow junior Haylee Love capturing 27th place. Jones claimed 41st while sophomore Abigail Bozarth crossed the line in 45th place.
Sophomore Martha Coleman was 49th Bridges claimed 52nd and sophomore Maddie Buddenberg finished 59th, with senior Grace Gerlock placing 61st. Faircloth finished 64th, while Swiersz finished 79th.
The season-opening Eye Opener has been the lone meet so far this year at the 5K distance for the Trojans, while Gardner, Love and Dixon each posting career times of less than 18 ½ minutes over the distance.
Two Trojan freshmen competed in the men's Eye Opener, with Luke Horne finishing 11th among D-II runners and teammate Brooks Hovis was 13th.
Junior Mason Hazel paced the men's team with a 12th-place finish in Montevallo, while Hovis placed 40th. Senior Ben Boerma crossed the line in 44th place, Horne finishing in 47th place. Senior Michael Burch finished 59th with fellow senior Jesse Patrick claiming 72nd place. Sophomore John Drummond captured 95th place.
Hazel has been the lone men's runner to record a sub 26-minute mark at the 8K distance this season, with nearly each runner substantially improving their season-best times since the start of the campaign.
