Cross Country Teams Compete at USC-Upstate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Columbia College men's and women's cross country teams competed at their second meet of the season on Friday afternoon in the Eye Opener at USC-Upstate.

The men finished 15th of 18 in the mostly NCAA DIV. I & II 8K meet while the women did not have enough runners to qualify for a team score, but their top three finishers fared very well in the 5K race against the tough competition. The meet featured D-1 teams such as Clemson, #24 Furman, Wofford, ETSU, Upstate, and the Citadel.

Some D-2 teams that were featured in the meet were UNC-Pembroke, Lees McRae, GA College, SWU, King, & Lander. Of the 17 schools competing, the Lady Koalas finished ahead of Claflin, Brevard, and Beaufort.

WOMEN

Leading the Lady Koalas in their 5K was junior Juliana Gonzalez placing 93rd overall out of 156 runners in a time of 21:27, improving her time from last week by a whole minute. Her teammates, senior Mina Shull and Avarose Buccino, a freshman, then finished 100th and 113th respectively. Shull ran a time of 21:58 while Buccino came across in 22:41, also improving her time by 20 seconds.

The women will next be competing on Sept. 21 when they head back to SPARTANBURG to compete in the Converse 6K Kick-Off.