SPARTANBURG, SC –  The Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams placed 18th and 19th respectively at Friday's (Aug. 31) SCSDB Eye Opener Meet in Spartanburg.

Senior Ian Wallace paced the FMU men with a 35th-place finish as he completed the 8,000-meter course in 28:18.34, less than a second off his personal-best time.  Freshman Guy McCarter was the second Patriot finisher with a time of 29:10 and a 62nd-place showing. 

Other FMU runners included sophomore Justin Carter in 91st place (30:04), sophomore Justin Koehn in 162nd (33:26), sophomore Alex McIntosh in 174th (34:23), junior Braylin Bloise in 188th (37:16), and junior Michael Bigelow in 192nd (38:15).

Junior Whitney Wagner led the Patriot women with a 58th-place finish in a time of 21:52 over the 5,000-meter layout.  In 15 races for FMU, she has led the Patriots 13 times.  Freshman Dani Velasquez placed 126th in a time of 24:23, followed by freshman Hannah Muzzillo in 127th (24:28), junior London Barnhill in 143rd (24:58), junior Diana Levy in 149th (25:09), freshman Kateland Todd in 154th (25:46), and sophomore Kasey Bradley in 167th (26:46).

Davidson College captured both team titles.

Both Patriot squads will host the FMU Invitational Meet on Friday evening, Sept. 14, at the Freedom Florence Recreational Complex, the first home meet for the Francis Marion programs in seven years.