Clemson Cross Country Opens Season at Gamecock Invitational

Sept. 5, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Kelsey Armstrong made her debut with the Clemson varsity cross country team Friday evening and did not disappoint. The junior from Talbott, Tenn. was the top individual finisher in the 5K Gamecock Invitational, leading the partial women’s squad to a second-place team finish behind host South Carolina. Armstrong’s winning time was 17:51.03 at Hilton Field at Fort Jackson.

Another newcomer, freshman Lauren Reen, recorded a top-10 finish. She placed sixth overall with a time of 18:32.31. Taylor Hughes (14th – 19:14.52) and Candace Sapp (20th – 19:47.55) also logged scoring efforts for the Tigers, who were without their top performers in junior Jenna Baker and sophomore Kim Ruck.

“This meet was about trying out new people, like Kelsey Armstrong, who had a great performance for her first collegiate meet,” said Lauren Reen stepped up in her first collegiate race.”

Only five men competed for Clemson on Friday. Jonathan Sunde was the top competitor, finishing runner-up in the men’s 5K race. He posted a time of 15:37.

“Sunde had a nice run. He worked up into the mix and looked smooth throughout,” Herbster said. “The men looked a little flat overall. They have been training well, though.”

Chris Ostrouchov, a newcomer to the team this fall, was 15th. He had a time of 16:15. Blake Kennedy (17th – 16:16) and Jasen Turnbull (19th – 16:17) rounded out the scoring efforts for the men’s team. Coastal Carolina won the men’s team standings with 25 points.

Clemson returns to action on Sept. 18 for the Mountaineer Open in Boone, N.C.

“We look forward to racing at Boone in two weeks and Clemson fans should expect to see a much higher level of performance from both teams as the season continues,” Herbster said.