CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete in their first race of the year on Saturday morning. The Blue Hose will be traveling to nearby Spartanburg, S.C., to race at the 2010 Eye Opener hosted by USC Upstate at the Roger Milliken Center.
Despite not participating last season, PC has a long history of attending this annual race to kick-off the season. From 2002 to 2008, the Blue Hose competed at Milliken seven times. Similarly, the annual race is a big draw for area high schools. As a result, many collegiate freshmen have already raced on this familiar course.
A field of 24 colleges and universities are registered to compete. Current Big South member Charleston Southern and future member Campbell will both be in attendance. Also highlighting the area teams are UNC Charlotte, College of Charleston, Furman, USC Upstate and Wofford.
Looking to lead PC's men's team at the first race are seniors Nicholas Baer and Adam Harris. In the women's race freshman Alex Thomas and junior Stephanie Newell are expected to be up front for the Blue Hose.
Both the men's and women's teams were voted to finish 10 in the pre-season conference poll. Both teams earned ninth-place votes, and the women earned an eighth-place vote. Liberty was picked to repeat as the conference champions for both sides.
The women will race first at 8:00 a.m. The men start immediately after at 8:30 a.m.
