GREENWOOD – The Lander women's cross country team opened the 2026 season with a fifth-place finish at the Furman Invitational on Saturday, while Carly Fuel established a new program record in the 6K.

Fuel finished 20th overall in 22:44.89, breaking her own Lander 6K record. The performance adds to an already historic résumé for Fuel, who became Lander's first All-Peach Belt Conference runner in 16 years and first NCAA Southeast All-Region finisher since 1999 last season.

Kayla Kerkofsky finished 43rd in 25:11.12, followed by Amara Hille in 45th at 25:25.63. Madeline Beal placed 51st in 26:09.48, while Callie McElroy was 52nd at 26:13.96 to complete Lander's scoring five.

Faye Brooks finished 57th in 26:56.06, while Hannah Hall placed 60th at 27:24.00. Nazareth Godinez and Kaelynn Larose finished 66th and 67th, respectively, with times of 29:40.46 and 29:44.45.

The Bearcats finished fifth in the team standings with 137 points.