Cross Country Competes at USC-Upstate Invite

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Columbia College Cross Country teams competed in the NCAA Div. I USC-Upstate Invitational on Saturday from Spartanburg. The women came away with a 20th place finish in the 5K meet while the men were 21st in the 8K race.

Of the 22 teams competing in the meet, 12 were NCAA Division I schools. Among non D-1 teams, Columbia finished 7th of 8 schools.

Leading the men was freshman Will Parker running a time of 29:17 to place 186th while fellow freshman Elijah Fink was right behind in 29:22 to place 187th. Both freshmen ran personal record times. Senior Kristian Sanchez then finished 193rd in 29:51 in a season-best time.

Freshman Jalen Miller was 4th on the team in a time of 31:26 for his personal record while freshman Jesse Gourde was right behind in 31:35 to complete the scoring. 

Other runners competing for the Koala men were freshmen DJ McGriff-Agers, Jimmy Bates and Jordon Miller. They ran times of 33:01, 33:09, and 33:26 respectively. Bates and Miller had personal record times as well.

The Koalas will next have two weeks off before heading to Knoxville, TN for the AAC Championships on Friday, November 7 at 11:00 am.