COLUMBIA, SC – The Francis Marion University women's and men's cross country teams placed third and fourth respectively at the University of South Carolina Gamecock Invitational, held Friday evening (Sept. 2) at Fort Jackson.

Sophomore Whitney Wagner led the FMU women with a sixth-place finish among the Division II entrants.  She finished the 5,000-meter course in 20:40, 13 seconds off her personal-best time.  Senior Samantha Smith placed 14th in 22:56, followed by sophomore Diana Levy in 20th (24:58), freshman Allyson Franklin in 24th (25:53), and sophomore London Barnhill in 29th position (27:30).

FMU compiled a 66 team score, trailing only UNC Pembroke and USC Aiken.

Junior Ian Wallace paced the Patriot men as he finished the 5,000-meter race in 17:17 and in 10th place.  Freshmen Justin Carter (18:30) and Alex McIntosh (18:50) placed 17th and 18th respectively, followed by senior Ryan Woloszyn in 20th (19:02), freshman Cody McDonald in 22nd (19:09), freshman Justin Koehn in 24th (19:35), and sophomore Michael Bigelow in 25th (19:41).

The FMU men posted a team score of 87 as UNCP also captured the Division II men's crown.

Both Francis Marion squads will compete in the UNC Wilmington Seahawk Invitational on Friday, Sept. 9.