The 42nd Eye Opener cross country meet with 143 high school teams and 3,933 runners entered for Saturday's races at The Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg is slated for Aug. 30 at 8 a.m. The early season meet is known to provide teams a gauge of the season ahead.
Editor's note: Our senior editor ran this race three years in the late 1990s when it was held at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind. In 1999, the race had two start lines.
The International boys race starts of the Saturday morning of 5,000-meter run events at 8 a.m. The final event is Junior Varsity girls at 10:05 a.m. MileSplit SC is onsite with senior editor John Olson and our Instagram social media manager Andrew Brown.
Saturday time schedule
8 a.m. - International Boys
8:25 a.m. - International Girls
8:50 a.m. - Championship Boys
9:15 a.m. - Championship Girls
9:40 a.m. - Junior Varsity Boys
10:05 a.m. - Junior Varsity Girls
Here is a breakdown of 2025 Eye Opener cross country meet predictions.
A look at the girls 2025 Eye Opener
The Eye Opener girls' race will feature both new faces and familiar contenders when the cross country season opens this weekend.
Ava Lindsey, last year's Eye Opener champion with the fastest 2024 time of 18 minutes, 2.20 seconds, will not return to defend her title. Lindsey told MileSplit Carolinas she plans to begin her 2025 season at Hare & Hounds in Charlotte, Sept. 19-20. Lindsey has also joined a new South Carolina program, the Upstate Falcons.
Greer Middle College's Chappell Martin enters the Eye Opener as one of the top favorites in the boys' race.
Lucas Johnston of Westminster Schools of Augusta (Ga.) is also among the leading contenders after winning the 2025 Skyhawk Invitational on Aug. 16 in muddy conditions (watch the 2025 Skyhawk Invitational race | interview).
Other athletes expected to challenge for top finishes include Wilson Rutherford of Waccamaw, Jackson Tuck of Greer Middle College, Daniel Campbell of River Bluff, Reid Finley of Liberty, Eric Robinson of Westminster Schools of Augusta, Jacob Powell of Blythewood, Beason Tuck of Greer Middle College, Evan DeMasi of Dutch Fork, Noah Clancy of Christ School (N.C.), Brendan Hitchcock of Spring Valley and Keller Brown of South Pointe.
A large group of boys in the field have recorded sub-16 performances for 5,000 meters, according to their MileSplit South Carolina profiles.
The 42nd Eye Opener cross country meet with 143 high school teams and 3,933 runners entered for Saturday's races at The Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg is slated for Aug. 30 at 8 a.m. The early season meet is known to provide teams a gauge of the season ahead.
Editor's note: Our senior editor ran this race three years in the late 1990s when it was held at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind. In 1999, the race had two start lines.
The International boys race starts of the Saturday morning of 5,000-meter run events at 8 a.m. The final event is Junior Varsity girls at 10:05 a.m. MileSplit SC is onsite with senior editor John Olson and our Instagram social media manager Andrew Brown.
Saturday time schedule
