Cross Country Shines at Carolina Challenge

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Clemson men’s and women’s cross country teams earned first and second place finishes, respectively, Saturday morning at the Carolina Challenge in Columbia, S.C. Redshirt-junior Elizabeth Dawson captured the women’s title on the 5K course, crossing the finish line in 18:24.7. Dawson was followed by Marketa Marcanikova, a senior, who placed second overall with a time of 18:31.1.

“Today was a great opportunity for our athletes to showcase where they stand and I think they did a great job today,” said head coach Mark Elliott. “We are obviously pleased with a first-place finish on the men’s side, and are excited that Elizabeth [Dawson] and Marketa [Marcanikova] were able to finish first and second individually.”

The men were paced by sophomore Andrew Emery, who placed third overall with a time of 15:57.2. John Ward (15:58.7), Matthew Tinsley (16:02.0), Colt Griffith (16:07.5) and Jacob Slann (16:21.8) all followed right behind Emery in fourth through seventh, respectively.

On the women’s side, behind Dawson and Marcanikova were Anna Johnson (18:55.1) and Erin McLaughlin (18:58.4), who placed 11th and 12th, respectively. Freshmen Kate Hamilton (19:30.4) and Mikie Harris (19:33.6) placed 21st and 22nd, respectively, for the Tigers.

Each team’s top-five times were counted towards the overall score for the meet.

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