Both the men's and women's cross country teams posted strong showings in their 2011 debut this weekend at the Eye Opener Invitational, held in Spartanburg, SC. Three runners from the men's team placed in the overall top ten, which propelled Davidson to victory in the event by a single point, 47-48 over Clemson. Seventeen teams participated overall, including seven Division I programs.

The women finished third, led by two top-ten performances. The women's top performers were Natalie Atabek '13 who finished the 5K course 9th in 18:22 and Erin Osment '15, who finished 10th in her first Davidson event in 18:26. Three of Davidson's top five runners were first-year students. Osment was joined by Sarah Paddon '15 who finished 22nd and Manya Swick '15 who finished 30th. The women finished third out of 17 teams and finished ahead of SoCon foes College of Charleston and Wofford.

The men were paced by Demetrios Pagonis '13 who placed 5th with an 8K time of 25:58. The 'Cats also swept places 9-12 with Ian Tupper '12, Ryan Hopkins '12, Wes Reynolds '13, and Henry Falotico '15 finishing in that order.

The next event for the Wildcats is the Clemson Invitational on Sept. 16.