For the second consecutive season, the men's and women's cross country teams from Covenant College will open the year by hosting the Scots Opener. This year's event will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday with the starting and finishing lines at Shadowlands Field.
The women's two-mile meet begins at 6 p.m., while the men's 5k starts at approximately 6:30 p.m. Both teams secured victories in last year's meets.
Under head coach Katie Stanford, the men's and women's teams each are looking for a competitive season. The USA South coaches picked the men's team to finish third in the league while the women were selected fourth.
Covenant will get a chance to prove its lofty rankings in Friday's Scots Opener as Maryville is the lone competing team. Maryville's men's team was picked as the USA South preseason favorite while the women's team was selected third.
The Covenant men's team returns top runner Stephen Dillon along with Jack Williams. Stanford has also brought on several new freshmen that look to contribute immediately.
On the women's side, Covenant returns much of the team that claimed the unofficial GSAC title last season. Beth Burgess and Spookie Eaves are the team's top two returning runners. Esther Anderson and Ruthie Cargill also look to improve upon solid freshman years. Five freshmen join the roster this season.
Friday is also College Colors Day as fans are encouraged to wear their royal blue and white as they cheer on their Scots cross country teams.