SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men's and women's cross country teams began the 2022 season on Friday afternoon in the Eye Opener at the Roger Milliken Research Center Park. The women were second and the men were fifth overall in the meet.
In the women's 5K race,
Alexus Atkins was eighth overall in 19:03.6 and
Mary Claire Ridgeway was ninth at 19:07.6 as Furman took the top seven spots.
Camille Terracina was 15
th in 19:42.9,
Carolyne Shealy was 21
st in 19:57.0 and
Chloe Gilbert was 31
st in 20:54.8 to close out the scorers for the Terriers.
Emily Jones (21:03.4),
Franny Tocco (21:32.6),
Kimber Keene (21:52.9) and
Morgan Roberts (22:01.7) and
Ava Fowler (22:11.0) also finished for Wofford.
The men's 8K competition followed and
Carson Archie was the top Terrier to finish in 27:23.8 for 26
th place. Freshman
John Bolinger (27:51.1) was 32
nd overall, followed by
Demir Degirmenci in 45
th at 28:35.1,
James Moon at 29:02.3 for 55
th place and
Patrick Daly at 29:37.2 for 61
st place to round out the scoring runners.
Emmett O'Neill (29:53.0),
Ross Fallaw (31:20.6),
Ethan Hearn (32:07.4) and
James Blackwelder (33:22.3) also completed the course for Wofford.
"I'm really excited about this season after today's meet," said head coach
Johnny Bomar. "It was really warm at the start of the women's race and they still came close to season-best times from last year. For the men we have a lot of new faces this season and some were running an 8K race for the first time, but I was encouraged by the results. Both teams have a chance to keep improving as the season continues."
Overall, Furman was first in the women's race with 15 points. Wofford was second with 83 points, followed by East Tennessee State with 100 points. The men's race was won by Furman with 29 points, with East Tennessee State (40) second and USC Upstate (95) in third place.
Both the men's and women's teams will be back in action on Saturday, September 17 at the Furman Invitational in Greenville.
