SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2023 slate at the Upstate Eye Opener in Spartanburg on Friday afternoon with the women taking second 5k and the men finishing third 8k. Freshman Gladys Chepngetich placed second overall for the women while sophomore, Victor Ndiwa placed second overall on the men’s side.
“I feel like this was by far our best season opener for both men’s and women’s teams. I’m looking forward to what the season has in store,” Head Coach Vicky Pounds said.
On the women’s side, the Tigers finished with a final score of 58, and final total of 1:29:11 to help them secure second place in the 5k. Chepngetich started her Clemson career with a finishing time of 17:11.20. Caelin Sloan, another new face on the Tigers roster, finished ninth overall with a final time of 17:31.90, and Madelyn Dinneen rounded out the Tigers in the top 20 with a time of 17:59.00 to finish 16th in the 5k.
For the men, they finished with a final score of 70 and a final total of 2:05:38 in the 8k. Ndiwa finished with a time of 24:22.90, which was just under three seconds behind the first-place finisher. Three additional Tigers finished in the top 20: Corentin Serbource (25:09.40 – 14th), Paul Maguire (25:18.00 – 19th) and Brandon Garcia (25:18.90 – 20th) to help Clemson to its third-place finish.
The Upstate Eye Opener included 18 programs and a total of 176 women’s runners and 170 men’s runners. For full results, click here.
For all the most up to date information regarding Clemson cross country, please visit ClemsonTigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter and Instagram.
