UNCG Cross Country Teams Cap Regular Season at Upstate Invitational
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s and women’s cross country teams capped their regular season schedule with the Upstate Invitational on Saturday morning at the Milliken Research Center.
MEN’S RACE
The men placed eighth out of 27 teams with 281 points. Charleston Southern took home the team title with 32 points. The men’s squad was the third The Southern Conference (SoCon) team to cross the finish line, with ETSU leading the way taking home fourth and Mercer finishing fifth overall. Western Carolina (11th), VMI (13th), The Citadel (19th), and Wofford (22nd) rounded out the Conference competition.
Junior Ethan Long paced the way for the Spartans with an impressive top-10 finish, taking home ninth out of 275 individuals. Long clocked in a time of 24:38.9 in the eight-kilometer race. He was one of two competitors from the SoCon in the top-10, with ETSU’s Jason Bowers earning the individual title with a time of 23:10.2.
Sophomore Luke Ward was the next Blue & Gold across the finish line, finishing 51st overall with a time of 25:40.5. Junior Colin Keck also earned points for the team with his 75th-place finish and time of 26:06.4.
Sophomores Andrew Hamilton and Zachary Taylor rounded out the Spartan competition that earned points towards the team finish. Hamilton placed 101st with a time of 26:22.8, while Taylor wasn’t far behind with his 114th-place finish and time of 26:33.9.
WOMEN’S RACE
The women finished 13th out of 32 teams at the five-kilometer race with 345 points. Furman took home the team title with 66 points. The Spartans were the fourth SoCon team out of eight that competed at the invitational. In between the Spartans and the Paladins was Mercer in eighth place and ETSU in ninth place. Western Carolina and the Spartans had a six-point gap between them with the Catamounts finishing 14th with 351 points. Wofford (19th), VMI (21st), and The Citadel (26th) rounded out the SoCon competition.
Sophomore Vicky Sosa was the first Spartan across the finish line, placing 36th out of 279 competitors. Sosa clocked in a time of 18:22.4 in the five-kilometer race.
Seniors Jenna Reiter and Shay Soukup were the next Blue & Gold across the finish line. Reiter finished 41st with a time of 18:28.9, while Soukup was 69th with a time of 18:51.0.
Junior Camille Carlson was 104th with her time of 19:20.0 and freshman Tenley Douglass rounded out the Spartans’ team total with a 121st place finish clocking in a time of 19:35.9.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will begin postseason competition with the 2023 SoCon Cross Country Championships on Friday, October 27. UNCG is the host school and the championships will take place at the Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, N.C. This will be the first time since 2014 that the Spartans have hosted the SoCon Cross Country Championships.
The women’s five-kilometer race will begin at 10:00 a.m. and the men’s eight-kilometer race will follow at 10:45 a.m.
Courtesy of Denise Archetto
Assistant Athletic Director For Strategic Communications
UNC Greensboro