BLUFFTON, S.C. — CIU cross country battled wet, rainy conditions that slowed times Saturday at the Sand Shark Invitational, hosted by USC Beaufort. Facing a field featuring programs from all three NCAA divisions, Jacobo Garcia-Rivera and Elizabeth Gustafson led the Rams with matching 13th-place finishes.

Garcia-Rivera completed the men's 8K in 28 minutes, 33.5 seconds. Joey Canning clocked 30:08.3, while Nate Mathison crossed the finish line in 31:24.3.

Gustafson paced CIU in the women's 5K with a time of 21:14.5. Savannah Costner recorded a 21:39.5 effort, and Morgan Hartman finished in 23:14.0.

The Rams return to action Oct. 23 at the AAC Preview in Knoxville, Tennessee.