Gamecocks Post Near Perfect Day in 33rd Winthrop/adidas Invitational

Sept. 17, 2016

ROCK HILL, S.C. – South Carolina claimed victory in the 33rd Winthrop/adidas Invitational Division I section on Saturday morning at the Winthrop Lake Course, coming three points away from a perfect score.

With 18 points, the Gamecocks cruised to the Division I title, besting the host Winthrop Eagles’ 46. USC Upstate finished third, a point ahead of Presbyterian.

Senior Mary Reiser paced the field with a time of 18:40.3 on the five-kilometer course, just off her pace from the Carolina Challenge two weeks earlier. Freshman Anna Kathryn Stoddard finished second at 18:47.3, shaving 12 seconds off her first collegiate race time. Redshirt junior Martha McCoy ranked fourth overall, just behind Winthrop’s Olivia Paxton while posting a time of 18:57.9. Sophomore Allison Mueller rounded out the top five with a 19:01.1, a near four-second improvement from the season opener.

Junior Kaylee Wessel rounded out the scoring in her first race of the year, finishing in 19:06.4, a new personal best. Junior Allie Sprague ranked ninth (19:21.4) and freshman Emily Crounse ranked 10th with her 19:22.7 clocking, a 16-second betterment in two weeks of work. Stoddard, Mueller, Wessel and Crounse all had collegiate-best timing as well as two others, junior Sarah Taylor (19:27.5, 11th) and Colleen Openshaw (19:49.7, 17th).

“I was very pleased with the team’s performance,” said Gamecock assistant coach for distance Andrew Allden. “It was a significant step up from two weeks ago. Mary did a really good job of taking the lead and pushing the pace. Anna Kathryn Stoddard continues to do a great job as our No. 2 again. She had a very strong last mile and ran faster than the first week. I feel like we did much better against our Division I foes than we did two weeks ago. I think this sets us up well for our next race.”

The Gamecocks continue the season in two weeks, running at the Notre Dame/Joe Piane Invitational on Sept. 30.

The top-10 finishers in the 33rd Winthrop/adidas Invitational