Men's Cross Country | September 13, 2022

Each week, the University of South Carolina Aiken will produce weekly notes. This week, USC Aiken competes at the Converse Kickoff.

Return Of Riley

After a two-year hiatus while recovering from injuries, Riley Campbell returned to the line-up for the season-opening Augusta Jaguar Invitational. He finished in 32^nd place after crossing the line in 31:58.42. The time was the third fastest of his career.

Mendoza Performs Well

Sophomore Julian Mendoza led the Pacers with a mark of 29:35.35 to take 16^th place at the Augusta Jaguar Invitational. It marked the fastest time of his career in the 8k (his time of 28:02.2 at the 2021 PBC Championship covered a 7.58k course).

Fast Times

For a season-opening meet, the USC Aiken men's cross country team put forth solid times under first year-head coach Marshall Leonard. Overall, the Pacers registered faster times in this meet than they have in previous season-opening meets.

Top Three

USC Aiken garnered a third-place finish at the Augusta Jaguar Invitational. It marked the team's best finish since the Garden City Meet at Augusta on Friday, Oct. 18. At that meet, the team posted a second-place finish in the three-team meet.

Second-Place Showing

The University of South Carolina Aiken men's cross country team posted a second-place finish last week at the GMC Brickyard Invitational. The Pacers were helped by registering two runners in the top 10 and two more in the top 13 of the meet.

Leading The Pack

Patrick Davis led the Pacers at the 4^th GMC Brickyard Invitational last week with his ninth-place finish. Davis edged Julian Mendoza for the finish. He notched a time of 28:31.56 while Mendoza was less than a second behind him, coming in at 28:32.55. 

Scouting The Race

This week, USC Aiken embarks on a road trip to Converse for the Converse Kickoff. It marks the first of three races the squad will compete in that are located in South Carolina. The other two are the final two regular-season races of the season.