SPARTANBURG, SC – The Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams raced in the Upstate Invite, hosted by the University of South Carolina Upstate on Saturday (Oct. 17) at Milliken Research Park. The men's team finished in 33rd place, while the women's side featured three runners in the field.
 
Francis Marion will head to Darlington Raceway on Friday, Oct. 23, to compete in the Coker Invitational. The women take the course at 4 p.m. while the men toe the line at 4:50 p.m.
 
Today's race also served as a preview of the course for the Patriots, as the 2026 Conference Carolinas Championship will be hosted at Milliken Research Park on Saturday, Nov. 7.
 
Freshman Dalton Horton led FMU in the 8,000-meter with a personal-best time of 28:11.7 to place 237th. Following Horton was junior Caleb Gary with a time of 29:43.8 to finish 288th, and sophomore Luis Cedeno five spots behind in 293rd after crossing the line at 29:59.0. The next finishers for the Patriots were junior Kyle Elliott (30:29.6) in 303rd position and freshman Nicholas Bresnan (30:35.3), who rounded out the team score after finishing 306th overall. Sophomore Ethan Simpson and senior Niclas Giessler were the final two Patriots that crossed the finish line at 30:45.9 and 31:29.7, respectively.
 
In the 5,000-meter, junior Rowan Hearn was the top finisher for Francis Marion with a time of 24:12.2 to place 274th. Following Hearn was junior Alia Turcios at 24:20.9 (276th) and sophomore Deyra Martinez (287th) with a time of 25:57.9.