Clemson’s cross country team kicked off its 2024 season at the USC Upstate Eye Opener last Friday. The Tigers were successful in both races they competed in, with the women taking first place overall in the 5,000-meter and the men hauling in a second-place finish in the 8,000-meter.
Led by a trio of sophomores, the women’s team was able to sweep the 5,000-meter podium and propel the team to their first win of the season. Silvia Jelelgo took first place with a time of 16:38.90, while Judy Kosegi (16:38.95) and Gladys Chepngetich (16:47.01) earned second and third, respectively.
Out of 156 total runners participating in the 5,000, Clemson had seven place in the top 20. Madelyn Dinneen (17:36.04) placed ninth, Madison Roush (18:00.55) placed 14th, Madison Timms (18:05.16) placed 19th and Alyssa Hammond (18:13.05) rounded out the top 20.
The men’s team showed out as well in the 8,000, with eight runners finishing in the top 20 of 162 participants. The Tigers swept seventh through 10th place, with freshman Garrett Brown crossing the line at 25:25.58 for seventh, while junior Brian Kweyei (25:25.84), senior Sawyer Dagan (25:28.11) and junior Victor Ndiwa (25:32.24) finished consecutively behind him.
To round out the top 20, Jonathan McGahney (25:45.50) placed 13th, Ryan Sula (25:48.87) placed 16th, Nate Verska (25:55.51) placed 18th and Paul Maguire (26:00.58) placed 19th.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will look to build on the momentum from their season opener this Saturday, Sept. 14, when they head up to Greenville, South Carolina, to compete in the Furman Invitational.
