Bruins cross country raced locally this morning at the Upstate Invite hosted by USC Upstate at Milliken Arboretum, arguably the best cross country course in South Carolina.

"I am proud of this team's efforts today," Head Coach Ken Roach said. "The team raced stronger today because we are starting to understand what it means to race, not just finish. This maturity is showing up at the right time of the season.  It was a tough race but we handled it with resiliency.  Today, we raced well and grew stronger together."

The Upstate Invite is always a favorite of many runners across the southeastern United States. Over 300 runners represented by over 30 teams lined up at the starting line to give one of the best starting scenes in the nation.

The cool morning gave the runners nearly perfect conditions to improve on their times. The women's 5k began at 9:00 a.m. and three of the Bruins top five runners set personal bests. Senior Laura Roland led the way for the Bruins again, but this time in speedy fashion. She set a personal best time of 20:44 knocking off over a minute from her last race. Kristen Dodds raced through the finish line next with a strong time of 21:23. Coming in third for the Bruins was freshman Olivia Reyes who set a big personal best time of 21:36. Arianna Hudson came in next for the Bruins right below the 22-minute mark at 21:59, and that was a personal best for her as well. Cora Gagne beat out teammate Kaitlyn Rodman to finish the scoring for the Bruins with a time of 22:16. Rodman finished close behind at 22:25.

The men's 8k was next at 9:45, and the Bruins were looking to improve from the last race to establish themselves at the top of the rankings heading into the national championships in a few weeks. All eight racers did just that today at Milliken. Sophomore Jacob Doshier continued his dominant and historic season today, and he moved up another spot in the Bruins all-time rankings with a big personal best of 26:15. That time now puts him fifth all-time. James Baer set a personal best as well finishing sub-28 minutes for the first time in his career at 27:45. Freshman Eoin Flynn came in next and joined the personal best train finishing at 28:55. Coming in fourth for the Bruins was Daniel Kyle who set a season best at 29:03, a time he knows he can improve on further at nationals. Joram Madrama closed the top five for the Bruins with a personal best time of 30:04. Luke VanDenBerghe, Daniel Baer, and Noah Woo closed the Bruins great day with times of 30:33, 31:21, and 31:25.

Full results can be seen here.

Now all eyes are on the NCCAA DII National Championships in Joplin, Missouri on November 13. The Bruins will look to use the next few weeks to grow further so they can put their best efforts forward.