SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Paced by senior Haylee Love's first-place finish, the Anderson women's cross country team claimed the top four spots and five of the top seven slots en route to winning the USC Upstate Eye Opener, while the men's squad claimed second place on the Milliken Research Center course.
Competing in a field of five NCAA Division II teams and four NCAA Division I schools on the women's side, Anderson topped Augusta, Emmanuel, Limestone and Converse. Furman claimed the top spot among the D-I schools, finishing ahead of Wofford, the host Spartans and Presbyterian.
Love covered the 5K course in a time of 18:58.9, which was 11th overall and tops among D-II runners. Junior Allyson Malone was just off the pace, finishing second in a time of 19:01.6. Fellow junior Martha Coleman (19:09.8) was less than 11 seconds behind her career-best time and claimed third place, with freshman Olivia Evans bringing home fourth place in a time of 19:13.3.
Junior Abigail Bozarth slashed 52 seconds off her time from last year's Eye Opener and finished seventh, while junior Maddie Buddenberg (20:00.0) finished in ninth place. Freshman Olivia Rish crossed the line in 11th place in a time of 20:29.4, with senior Alex Dixon taking 14th place in a time of 20:34.
Freshman Hannah Beach (20:45.3) and sophomore Morgan Bridges (20:45.5) were 15th and 16th, respectively. Senior Hannah Sanford finished in 18th place in a time of 20:54.1, while sophomore Breck Jones was 20th among D-II runners in a time of 21:02.5. Freshman Lydia Gambrel (21:31.6) claimed 25th and classmate Joellen Palzer (22:21.8) finished 28th.
Senior Emily Pitts was 30th in a time of 22:38.0, while freshman Katherine Lewis (23:00.4) was 34th. Sophomore Emily Olson posted a career-best time of 23:23.3 and claimed 35th, with freshman Natalie Ardis (24:56.1) rounding out the Trojan contingent in 40th place.
Competing against four other NCAA Division II teams and the same four Division I schools, the Trojan men's squad finished behind Augusta, but ahead of Emmanuel, Limestone and Lander in the 8K event.
Newcomers led the way for the Black and Gold, as freshman Weston Hutto (26:45.1) finished fifth among D-II runners. Classmate Ben Clark was just behind in sixth place, crossing the line in a time of 26:50.8. Freshman Joey Teachout (27:11.5) claimed ninth place, while fellow freshman Phillip Quillen posted a time of 27:52.7 and finished 11th.
Freshman Ian Yates (28:18.5) was 15th, with sophomore Luke Horne finishing 16th in a time of 28:24.9. Freshman Riley Dixon (28:51.3) and senior John Drummond (29:08.0) were 19th and 22nd, respectively. The freshman duo of Hayden Tuten (29:30.2) and David Rolon (30:03.2) claimed 24th and 27th, respectively among D-II runners.
Anderson will get back on the course next Saturday at Furman's Cross Country Classic.
