SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men's and women's cross country teams opened the 2017 season on Friday night at the 34^th Eye Opener Invitational at the Roger Milliken Research Center. The women and men both finished second overall among NCAA Division I teams.
 
"We were able to accomplish what we set out to do entering the meet," said head coach Johnny Bomar. "We have not been back on campus for very long, so we had specific goals to work towards. It was important to come out here and get a good feel for the course as the Southern Conference Championship will be held here. Overall I am pleased with where we are as a team."
 
In the women's 5K race, freshman Hannah Steelman was second overall in 17:37.5. Her time was the fastest in school history, surpassing the previous mark of 18:06.00 set in 2013. Anya Bunao was the next Terrier to cross the finish in 20:01.01, followed by Shannon McAndrew in 20:03.1, Mary Wilson Stewart in 20:04.2, and Taryn Schoen in 20:09.2. Also running for the Terriers were Whitley Elsass, Rebeka Fadgyas, Madison Paraskeva, Jamie Barnett, Alexandria Christopoulos, Chandler Washburn, Anastasia Burroughs, Ashley McCreary, and Sommer McKenzie.
 
The men's 8K competition followed and sophomore Jack Zemp was the top finisher for the Terriers with a time of 27:23.1 for 21^st place. Ethan Epstein ran a 27:31.7, followed by Cisco Ferre at 27:43.9, Cristian Widenhouse at 27:45.7 and Ben Hensley in 29:24.1. Also competing were Dane Szalwinski, Will Stutts, Ben Boatwright, Walker Gibbs, Ford McCoy and Joe Harbacevich.  
 
Overall, Furman was first in both the men's and women's races. The Wofford women were second, followed by USC Upstate and Presbyterian College. The Terriers were second on the men's side, with USC Upstate and Presbyterian completing the field. Anderson, Augusta, Limestone, Lander and Emmanuel competed in the Division II race.
 
Both the men's and women's teams will be back in action on Saturday, September 16 at the Winthrop/Adidas Invitational.