Horses, Bishops runners stare down competition in Eye Opener

Bishop England and Philip Simmons, two schools with proud and successful cross-country programs, competed in the 36th annual Eye Opener on Sept. 5 at The Milliken Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

The 5k race is the start of the cross-country season in the Palmetto State and features a who’s who of top teams and individuals. Philip Simmons and Bishop England ran in the International Division. 

The Iron Horse boys had the best team finish of the day, claiming 8th place in the International Division with 364 points. Christ Church was champion with 27 points, while Lexington High School was second with 114 points in a race that included 45 teams and 452 runners who crossed the finish line. 

Matthew Perry led the Iron Horses with a time of 16 minutes, .80 seconds, which was good for 14th place. Grady Castiglia was 43rd, and Griffin Tollison held down 77th place. 

The Bishops' Connor Good had the best finish by an individual local runner with a 9th-place finish in 15:56. Gabe Hislop was 72nd, and Ben Huntington finished in 92nd place. That helped the Bishops to a 13th-place finish with 409 points. 

The Iron Horse girls finished in 13th place in the 41-team event with 383 points, while the Bishop girls held down 19th place with 549 points. North Carolina entry North Lincoln High School won the girls’ title with 87 points, while Chapin High School was runner-up with 152. 

The Iron Horses’ Laura Perry and Flynn Taylor were the top two local finishers in the girls’ race. Perry finished in 12th place individually with a time of 19:27.90, while Taylor was the 18th runner to cross the finish line. Eighth-grader Stella Wininger finished in the top 100. 

Sienna Agostino led the Bishop girls with a time of 19:55, which was good for 26th place. Katie Cheverie finished in 60th place in a race that had 378 runners who crossed the finish line. 

The Bishops’ program is one of the most successful in the state. The Bishop girls have won five state titles, which is tied for fifth all time. The Bishops, who won back-to-back titles in 2022 and ’23 have finished state runners-up two times, including last fall. 

The Bishop boys are fourth all-time with six state championships. The Bishop boys also have finished state runners-up seven times, including last year. 

The Iron Horses have celebrated major accomplishments as the program enters its 10th year under coach Josh Michael. 

The girls’ team has won four consecutive state titles entering the 2026 season after finishing as state runners-up in 2021. 

The boys’ team has won back-to-back state crowns entering ’26 and has finished as runners-up three times. 

The first Eye Opener was held Sept. 4, 1984, when the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind hosted the event, which featured five teams and 54 runners. 

In 2000, the Eye Opener venue was moved to the campus of the Roger Milliken Center. In 2002 the collegiate division was added.