Men's Cross Country | May 22, 2024

AIKEN, S.C. - The University of South Carolina Aiken had many thrilling moments throughout the action-packed 2023-2024 season. Whether it was on the diamond, on the court, on the course, on the links or on the pitch, PacerSports.com is going to relive some of those unforgettable highlights that defines the Pacers' spirit a sport at a time.

In his second year at the helm of the program, head coach Marshall Leonard's team turned in some impressive performances throughout the season. His squad boasted personal-best times, top-10 marks in school history and also shattered school records.

The team registered a pair of top-10 efforts on the season, but the highlight of the year occurred at the Blue Bear Invitational on Friday, Sept. 8.

In a rare weekday morning meet, USC Aiken took home the bronze medal at the race hosted by Livingstone in Salisbury, N.C. That morning, the squad bested six other schools as Julio Rojas established a school record in the 8k with a time of 27:17.4. He averaged a 5:29.4 mile pace while taking home a fourth-place individual finish.

Freshman Justin Kaimann notched a time of 27:22.5, which was good enough for sixth place. Kaimann's time also beating the previous school record while topping his personal-best mark. 

All five Pacers finished in the top 21 spots at the race. Their outstanding performances guided USC Aiken to its best finish of the year as well as the program's second-best finish under Leonard at a meet.