Clemson Cross Country Opens 2026 at the USC Upstate Eye Opener

🐾 Clemson at USC Upstate Eye Opener
🗓️  Date: Friday, Sept. 4, 2026
⏰ Time: 6:30 p.m. (Women’s 5K) & 7:10 p.m. (Men’s 8K)
📍 Venue: Roger Milliken Center | Spartanburg, S.C.
📊 Live Results: TimingInc
📙 TFRRSXC Pages: Clemson Women | Clemson Men
🐯 Rosters: Clemson

 

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson Cross Country opens its 2026 season Friday, Sept. 4, at the USC Upstate Eye Opener in Spartanburg, S.C. The women’s 5K will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the men’s 8K at 7:10 p.m.

Building on the Women’s Success from 2025

• In 2025, Silvia Jelelgo placed 18^th in the NCAA Division I Women’s 6K Cross Country Championship in 19:03.7 with an average mile of 5:06.7.
• At the NCAA Division I Southeast Regionals, Clemson’s women placed eighth as a team with 243 points.
  • Jelelgo led the team with a fourth-place finish in (19:13.4).
  • Gladys Chepngetich placed 13^th in 19:48.5.
  • Elizabeth Ilanda (20:55.7, 67 points), Emily Lamontagne (21:10.3, 74 points) and Maddie Dinneen (21:20.1, 85 points) rounded out Clemson’s top five scorers.
• Jelelgo placed third in the ACC Women’s 6K Championship in 19:15.2.
  • Chepngetich scored Clemson’s second-most points with a 13^th-place finish (19:51.4).
• In addition to Jelelgo, Chepngetich and Judy Kosgei, Clemson adds Nancy Cherop, setting the women’s team up for a strong 2026 season.
  • Cherop joined Clemson’s Track & Field program earlier this year, competing in the 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m races.
  • Her debut came Jan. 23, when she competed in the women’s invitational mile at the Orange & Purple Invitational.
  • This was the first time in her life that she competed on an indoor track. Cherop finished fourth in 4:32.92, which was the third-best performance in Clemson history at the time.
  • Cherop went on to win the Indoor ACC Women’s 3000m Championship, finish second in the Outdoor ACC Women’s 5000m Championship and qualify for the NCAA Division I Outdoor 5000m Championship.

New Faces on the Men’s Team

• The men’s team will see three new faces, including Keller Brown, Jonas Dowdell and Matt Maguire.
  • Keller Brown is the younger brother of current Tiger Garrett Brown, who is entering his junior season.
• Last season, Garrett Brown led Clemson with 24:08.6 at the ACC Men’s 8K Cross Country Championship.
• Brendan Gomez (52^nd, 30:55.4), Garrett Brown (68^th, 31:13.4) and Trey Sullivan (80^th, 31:26.9) were Clemson’s top three regional finishers that are returning this season.

For complete coverage of the Clemson cross country program, follow @ClemsonTrackXC on X, Instagram and Facebook.