Cross Country Opens Season at Covered Bridge Open

Aug. 30, 2008

Boone, NC – Clemson’s cross country teams opened the 2008 season Friday at the Covered Bridge Open, hosted by Appalachian State University. Both teams finished fourth in the team standings and neither team ran a full squad of competitors. In fact, the men’s team was without seniors Sam Bryfczynski and Bryce Iverson, while the women ran without sophomore standout Jenna Baker.

The men’s team finished with 95 points. Florida State won the event with a total of 34. Clemson was led on the men’s side by sophomore Chris Slate, who finished 18th overall. Slate finished slightly ahead of walk-on Shane Reighard, who was one second ahead of 20th-place finisher Tyler Morey. The Tigers’ top five finished in order, as Jonathan Sunde was 21st and captain Will Noble came across 22nd. All five runners finished within one second of each other, as the group crossed the line with a top time of 26:46 over the 8000m course.

The women’s team had a total of 125 points and Florida State claimed the top prize in the 5000m race as well. The Tigers, for the most part, managed to also stay together in the women’s race as a pack. Sunday Ford, a senior captain from Piedmont, SC, posted a time of 20:02 to finish 26th overall. Lauren Klas, who returns after an injury-plagued sophomore season, was 27th at the same finishing time. Candice Johnson, Joanie Castagno, and Lisa Brown finished 28th through 30th, respectively, with a time of 20:03. Abby Iselborn was the top finisher for Clemson outside of scoring position. She posted a time of 20:14 and was 35th.

The teams return to action next weekend for the 25th annual Eyeopener in Spartanburg, SC.