Sept. 16, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Following a two-week hiatus, the South Carolina cross country team will return to action Saturday in Rock Hill, where they will compete in the 24th annual Winthrop-Asics Invitational on the campus of Winthrop University.

After placing third at the season-opening Gamecock Invitational, coach Stan Rosenthal’s squad will look to build upon that momentum against a traditionally strong field at Winthrop.

Saturday’s meet will give Coach Rosenthal an opportunity to evaluate the progress of all 30 of his athletes, as all members of the Gamecock cross country program will be in action for one of the few times this season.

The meet will also provide Carolina’s top runners a chance to compare themselves against a top-flight field, that includes some of the top runners in the Southeast Region. This year’s field includes Southern Conference powers Appalachian State and Western Carolina, as well as ACC representative Wake Forest.

Coach Rosenthal is hopeful that this weekend’s meet will serve as a springboard as the Gamecocks look to build towards the SEC Championships November 1.

“We go to Winthrop every year so we can get all 30 of our athletes an opportunity to race, and it also allows us to compare our times from year-to-year to see what kind of progress we’re making,” Rosenthal said. “There’s a very high-level of competition so it should be a great test for us early in the season, but I feel really good about where we’re at as a team going into this weekend. I expect us to go to Winthrop, race hard and hopefully come out with a win.”

The Winthrop-Asics Invitational will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.