Women’s 6k results | Men’s 8k results
Blacksburg, Va. – The Clemson cross country teams saw four personal bests obtained and five athletes make their debut at the race distances featured at the Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational on Friday night. Logan Morris was the Tigers’ highest finisher, taking second place in 20:50.1 over the 6k course. John Ward led the way for the men, putting together a strong performance to cross the line in the 15th position with a time of 25:35 over 8k.
The women, who were first to compete on the Buford Meredith Cross Country Course, saw all five of their scoring runners place within the top 20 overall. Mikie Harris, a junior for the Tigers, took 47 second off of her previous personal best time in the event, running 22:07.7 on Friday. Joining Morris and Harris in the top five was Liz Sauder, Jenna Gearing and Morgan Wittrock. The five women combined for 69 points, good enough for third place as a team, slotting behind Virginia Tech and Duke.
Other athletes on the women’s side who garnered personal bests were Amelia Jones (23:21.9) and Claire Strickler (23:04.8). Brianna Hartley, Carley McGlinn and Andrea Foster each made their debut at the distance on Friday.
The men saw six Tigers take to the line as the gun was fired. Jackson Leech was the second Tiger to cross the line and was joined by Conor McCabe, who was the fifth Tiger at the meet to finish, in achieving their collegiate debut at the 8k distance. Marlin Young, a transfer from USC-Upstate, achieved a lifetime best of 26:05.3 at Friday’s competition. The men finished in fourth place as a team, scoring 117 points.
Virginia Tech was crowned the victors in both races, compiling 22 points in the women’s race and 30 points on the men’s side. Sara Freix was the first to cross the line in the women’s race with a time of 20:45.8, while Ben Varghese won the men’s race in 24:25.9.
The Tigers now look ahead to the Joe Piane – Notre Dame Invitational on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The meet, slated for Oct. 4, will be one of the premier meets in the country this season, allowing the Tigers to test their ability against the best competition in the country.
