CLINTON, S.C. – The Spartanburg Methodist College men’s cross country squad claimed the Sixth Annual Blue Hose Invitational with a low 66 points on Friday afternoon as the Pioneers had four runners finish in the Top 20. Brent Clausing of Limestone College took individual honors as Clausing ran the 8K course in 26:09.31, thirty seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. North Greenville finished sixth with a team score of 128. Elliott Taylor was the high-finisher for the Crusaders, crossing the finish line in 12^th place with a time of 27:27.31. Mark Schandel finished 20^th with a time of 28:27.53. For complete individual results click here.

2006 Blue Hose Invitational

Final Team Results
School

Points

1. Spartanburg Methodist 66
2. Presbyterian 87
3. Francis Marion 103
4. Erskine 107
5. Limestone 116
6. North Greenville 128
7. Tusculum 170
8. Southern Wesleyan 173
Morris DNS
Newberry DNS

Spartanburg Methodist is a repeat winner of the team title, having claimed the 2005 title with 43 points. Spartanburg Methodist, along with UNC Pembroke and USC Spartanburg (now USC Upstate), has won the Blue Hose invitational twice since the first in 2000. Jeremy Vangsnes led the Pioneers with his sixth-place finish, completing the race in 27:00.40. Griffin Cole, last year’s individual winner, placed eighth in 27:03.95, while Ross Kaiser (27:52.54) and Wells Johnson (28:00.30) claimed 15th and 16th, respectively.

Presbyterian’s senior Matthew Elliott (Green Sea, S.C.) took runner-up honors with his time of 26:39.97, leading the host Blue Hose to a second-place finish and 87 points. David Payne of Southern Wesleyan improved upon his sixth-place finish from last year, coming in third in 26:44.25 today.