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 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, #21 Anderson, USC-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 18 schools competing, the Koalas finished ahead of SMC, Brevard, and Beaufort and were just four points behind Claflin for 14th place.

Leading the Koala men was senior Patrick Timmerman as he placed 70th overall in 27:59 in the 5 mile race. Senior 2024 Racewalk National qualifier Dorde Racic then came in second on the Koalas in 83rd overall in 28:36

Junior Kristian Sanchez then came next and was 58th in 30:09 while sophomores William Bull and Harold Nolan finished up the scoring for the Koalas placing 122nd and 126th overall out of 162 runners. Bull ran a time of 30:16 while Nolan came across in 30:31.

 The men are next competing on Sept. 21 when they head back to Spartanburg to compete in the Converse Univ. 8K Kick-Off on Saturday morning.