ANDERSON, S.C. - Coming off second and third-place finishes, respectively last weekend, the Anderson University women's and men's cross country teams are scheduled to compete in the second annual Furman Cross Country Classic on Saturday at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C.
In a field crowded with at least nine NCAA Division I teams, the Paladins will welcome 23 men's and 26 women's college teams and 30 boys' and 27 girls' high school teams to the event.
The races will kick off with the Blue Shoes Open 5K at 7:30
a.m., with the collegiate women's 6K event slated to start at 8:30
a.m., followed by the collegiate men's 8K race at 9:15 a.m.
Freshman Alex Dixon paced the Trojan women last weekend at the Royals Twilight meet, capturing third place in her collegiate debut, with sophomores Olivia Gardner and Bari Robinson crossing the line in eighth and 10th, respectively. Senior Sydney Hazel was three seconds behind Robinson, in the 11th spot, with sophomore Amber Worthy posting a personal-best effort and finishing 15th. Fellow Sophomore Grace Gerlock also collected a personal-best time and finished 18th.
Sophomore Mia Swiersz's personal-best effort earned her the 20th spot, while the freshmen duo of Allison Halperin and Taylor Morris crossed the line in 24th and 26th, respectively. Freshman Haylee Love finished 30th and redshirt junior Devan Fisher rounded out the Trojan contingent in 37th.
Sophomore Ben Boerma finished 10th at last week's Royals Twilight, leading the Trojan men to a third-place finish. Freshman Mason Hazel brought home 11th, with graduate student Westley Wilson placing 16th and sophomore Jesse Patrick claiming 23rd.
Classmates Ned Kennedy and Michael Burch crossed the line in 32nd and 39th, respectively, while senior Joshua Visi-Clark finished 41st.
Anderson did not compete in last season's inaugural classic, but
similar to last week in Charlotte, the Trojans are familiar with
the course, having competed at the Furman Invitational, which is
held in early October, two of the past three seasons
