Cullowhee, N.C. -- The Western Carolina cross country team is back in action for the first time since early September as they take on the Upstate Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. The women's 5k is scheduled for a 9:00 a.m. start while the men's 8k is slated to wrap up the day at 9:45 a.m.

Saturday's Meet: The Upstate Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. | Milliken Research Park

Teams (32): Alabama A&M, Bob Jones, Bridgewater, Campbell, Charleston Southern, The Citadel, College of Charleston, Columbia, Davidson, Furman, Gardner-Webb, Gaston College, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Jacksonville State, Johnson & Wales, Longwood, North Georgia, Oxford College, SC State, South Carolina, Spartanburg Methodist, Toccoa Falls, Truett-McConnell, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, USC Upstate, UT Martin, West Georgia, Western Carolina, Winthrop, Wofford

Women's 5K: 9:00 a.m.
Men's 8K: 9:45 a.m.

Live Results: https://tinyurl.com/mw7arz4m

The Catamounts will face tough competition in both events, with the Furman Paladins entering the meet tabbed sixth in the Southeast region on the men's side and 10th in the region on the women's. Additionally, the WCU men's team will face the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, who enter the weekend ranked 15th in the region.  

Additionally, WCU will face some strong SoCon competition outside of the Paladins, as The Citadel, UNC Greensboro, and Wofford are all scheduled to compete.  

The Catamounts were led their last time out by Bradley White (pictured above) on the men's side and Katherine Hopkins on the women's. Hopkins was the only Catamount to post a sub-19:00 finish in the 5k at the Virginia Invitational, finishing her race in 18:33.30, a time that ranks 19th in the Southern Conference.  Braelyn Shae-Wahy (pictured above) ranks second on the team in the 5k after a 19:01.70 finish in the race in Virginia.

Similarly, White was the only Catamount to finish their 8K in under 26 minutes, clocking in at 25:45.60 with the cluster of Jaleb Saunders (26:01.80), Matthias Peterson (26:03.10), and Matthew Womack (26:07.00) coming in close behind.  

Last season, the Catamounts used the Upstate Invitational as a launchpad for a strong finish to the regular season on the men's side. WCU claimed a second-place team finish on the men's side at the event last year, rolling to a second-place finish at the SoCon Championships only a few weeks later. Chase Thurber and Lawson Mecom both earned placements on the all-time 8K performance list for their 24:24.2 and 24:54.6 finishes in Spartanburg a year ago.  

Up Next for The Catamounts:
The Catamounts return to the workshop for two weeks before taking on the 2025 Southern Conference Championship in Mill Springs, N.C., on Nov. 1. They'll then turn their attention to the NCAA South Regional in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 14.