The women's and men's cross country teams began their season tonight competing in the Eye Opener hosted by USC Upstate. They were able to run against teams such as Clemson, Furman, USC Upstate, East Tennessee State, and more.

"Both teams did a great job running as a group tonight," Head Coach Ken Roach said. "I think this may be the only race the Bruins have ever raced in the month of August, so we're good with the result only if we realize how much we can grow moving forward."

The women's 5k came first tonight at the Milliken Aboretum in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and it was All-America senior Lauren Jones that led the way for the Bruins. She finished 81st overall with a time of 22:32. Not far behind her were sophomore Hannah Cohen and freshman Lillian Strange, both of which will be key pieces for the Bruins all season long. Cohen finished with a time of 22:57 followed by Strange at 23:15 in her first collegiate race. Kristen Dodds and Cora Gagne rounded out the top five with times of 23:20 and 23:50. The Bruins came in 10th place beating Brevard College and Warren Wilson College.

The men's 8k closed out the night, and freshman standout Judah Nash came first for the Bruins. Nash, joined by James Baer and Joel Batres-Mena for the majority of the race, was able to kick his way to a good time of 28:18 in his first collegiate race. Sophomore James Baer came behind him at 28:34. Finishing just under 29 minutes was junior Joel Batres-Mena at 28:56. Daniel Kyle and Levi Gerbitz came through at 30:30 and 31:00 to close the scoring for the Bruins. The men finished 11th overall also beating Brevard and Warren Wilson. 

"This is a fun group with a lot of potential," Coach Roach said after the race. "We look forward to racing in front of a lot of our fans next week at the Bruins Night Classic. That will be a great atmosphere for us to find some momentum."

As Coach Roach said, the Bruins are back in action next week for the Bruins Night Classic that is hosted on Bob Jones University campus. The women's race begins at 8:15 p.m. followed by the men at 8:45 p.m.