GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman Cross Country Invitational will be held Sat., Sept. 13, on the Furman University Golf Course.  

The races will kick off with the collegiate women's race at 9 a.m., and the collegiate men's event will commence at 10 a.m.  Both 6K races will be held on the cross country course of the Furman Golf Club, which has hosted two NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, and will consist of a 2K loop repeated three times.  

In addition to the Paladins, teams competing include Bob Jones, Charleston Southern, Claflin, Clemson, Gardner-Webb, and UNC Asheville.

"We always consider this weekend with our stakeholder dinner and home meet as the true start of our season," said Furman head coach Robert Gary.  "Both programs are excited to continue our quest toward defending our SoCon title streak as well as advancing to the NCAA championships again."

The Furman men's team, which is tied for 30th in the first USTFCCCA ranking of the year, went 1-2-3-4-5 to open the season last month at USC Upstate's Eye Opener at Milliken Research Center in Spartanburg.  The Paladin women finished as runner-up at the meet.

Both Paladin teams were picked to win their 13th-straight SoCon titles in 2025.  With the win at the 2024 SoCon Cross Country Championship on their home course, the Furman men, who claimed seven of the top ten individual spots, extended the league record for consecutive SoCon team titles—a distinction the Paladins claimed in 2023.  Fifteen athletes return on the men's side.  The Furman women, who return 14 competitors from last year's squad, captured five of the top ten individual spots at the 2024 league meet, extending their SoCon record with a 12th-straight team title, the nation's longest active conference winning streak on the women's side. 

Live results will be available at www.furmanpaladins.com.

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