Rock Hill, S.C. - Winthrop men's and women's cross country open up the 2024 season Friday morning at the App State Covered Bridge Open.
WHO: Mercer, Western Carolina University, USC Upstate, Winthrop, App State, South Carolina, UNC Asheville, High Point, Montreat
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 | Women – 5K – 10:00 a.m. / Men – 6K – 10:40 a.m.
WHERE: Boone, N.C. |
Don Kennedy Trails at State Farm |
Meet Information |
5K Map |
6K Map
LIVE RESULTS:
CLICK HERE
ABOUT THE EAGLES
- Winthrop's men's squad features a young roster heading into the season with three freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors, three seniors and one graduate transfer. Daren Hinds (Sr.) and Noah Woodbury (Sr.) bring the most experience to this year's squad. The top newcomers for the Eagles this season are Jason Krell, a graduate transfer from the University of Louisville and freshman Conner Magill from Cumberland H.S. in Rhode Island.
- On the women's side, half of Winthrop's roster is made up three freshman and four sophomores. The remaining three are two juniors and a senior. Top returnees include junior Olivia Kemp and sophomore Alexis Taylor. The top newcomers for the Eagles this season, all freshman, include Ella Collins from Colaiste na Toirbhirte in Cork, Ireland; Anna Conrad from Fairfield Union H.S. in Ohio and Brianna Dooney from Summerville H.S. in South Carolina.
- In Taylor's freshman year in 2023-24, she was named the Big South Conference Women's Cross Country Freshman of the Week for meets ran Oct. 5-8. She had the third-best time for the Eagles with a time of 19:56, finishing 106th at the Royal Challenge on the campus of Queens University in Charlotte, N.C. Since the Conference starting awarding a Freshman of the Week honor in 2021, Taylor becomes Winthrop's first-ever recipient of this honor.
- In Kemp's sophomore year in 2023-24, she was named to the Big South Women's Cross Country All-Academic Team. This is Kemp's first All-Academic placement.
- Hinds had an outstanding junior season in 2023-24. He was named the Big South Conference Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week on Sep. 6. He finished 16th out of 146 runners at the Elon Twilight Open with a 6k time of 18:07.2, which also set a PR and shattered his previous time in the event by more than a minute. With this placement, Hinds helped the Eagles to a fifth-place team finish and was the second time as an Eagle that Hinds was named the runner of the week. He then took first place overall with a time of 25:33.6 in the 8k at the 39th Annual Winthrop/Adidas Invitational on Sep. 30. Hinds became the first Eagle to capture first place in a race at home since Hall of Famer Adam Growley did so in 2001.
- Nolan Weisdorfer was named to the Big South All-Academic Team for the second straight year.
- This is the 41st season for the cross country teams and the 32nd year for head coach Ben Paxton.
- The Eagles have six guaranteed races that include the 41st annual Winthrop/Adidas Invitational and hosting the NCAA Southeast Regionals on Friday, Nov. 15.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop Cross Country programs follow along on Twitter at @WinthropTrackXC or winthroptrackxc on Instagram.
