Clayton State Men's Cross Country picked 4th PBC preseason poll.
Augusta, GA -- AUGUST 17, 2012 – The Clayton State men's cross country team is gearing up for its 18th season, and a poll released by the Peach Belt Conference coaches predicts the Lakers will finish fourth in the 2012 season.
Clayton State ran third in the 2011 PBC Championships, turning in a top-three finish in the league meet for the fifth straight season. The Lakers will look to returning junior Charles Anderson to keep that streak alive. Anderson finished 13th at the 2011 PBC run to be named second-team All-Conference. Junior Ayrton Azcue, as does senior Ricky Fort and sophomore Tanner Thomason.
"We'll be challenged keeping our streak of Top 3 finishes in the conference this year with two returnees who will not be available this fall," said Laker head coach Mike Mead. "If our newcomers meet expectations, then we could challenge for the conference title in October."
One year after winning their first Peach Belt Conference men's cross country championship, the Augusta State Jaguars have been chosen as the preseason team to beat in a poll of the league's head coaches released on Thursday. The Jaguars received eight of a possible nine first-place votes to finish with 80 points in the poll, 13 ahead of second-place Columbus State. UNC Pembroke was third in the voting with Lakers fourth. Flagler, Georgia College, Montevallo, newcomer Young Harris, Francis Marion and Armstrong rounded out the voting.
The 2012 Clayton State men's cross country season begins on Sept. 1 at the Sewanee/Berry Cross Country Invitational in Rome, Ga. The 2012 PBC Cross Country Championships will be hosted by Montevallo for the first time on Saturday, Oct. 20.
The preseason poll is listed below. Teams were given nine points for a first-place vote, eight for a second-place and so on. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
|
Rank |
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
Total |
|
1. |
Augusta State |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
80 |
|
2. |
Columbus State |
1 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
67 |
|
3. |
UNC Pembroke |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
64 |
|
4. |
Clayton State |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
58 |
|
5. |
Flagler |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
51 |
|
6. |
Georgia College |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
41 |
|
7. |
Montevallo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
34 |
|
8. |
Young Harris |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
23 |
|
9. |
Francis Marion |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
19 |
|
10. |
Armstrong |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
