Clayton State men place 5th at Peach Belt Conference Championships Sat.
Montevallo, AL, – A banged up Clayton State men's cross country gutted out a fifth place finish Saturday at the Peach Belt Conference Championships in Montevallo, AL.
The Lakers finished with 131 points 8K meet, while Columbus State captured the league crown with 30 points. Augusta State was the runner up with 72 points, followed by Flagler 101 points and UNC Pembroke with 110.
"We did not have the day we were hoping, but we knew going in that it would be tough with the injuries that have hampered us the past month." said head coach Mike Mead. "I'm disappointed in our team finish, but not in the team effort. Our guys ran with determination despite the physical challenges for many. Unfortunately, this was our lowest team finish in five years."
Clayton State was led by freshman Job Kemboi finishing 11th with a time of 26:30 and junior Charles "Scooter" Anderson with a time of 26:34 in 13th. Both runners received All-Conference for their performances, finishing in the top-14 in the meet. UNC Pembroke's Pardon Ndhlovu won the event with a conference record time of 24:20.
"On the bright side, our Top two of Kemboi and Anderson managed All‐PBC honors while running collegiate‐bests for 8K," said Mead. "All is not lost as we head into the regional meet, but it may be tough for a Top 10 finish this season. I would not count our guys out. We'll move on and get ready for our final meet of the season in two weeks."
Behind Anderson, junior Ayrton Azcue finished 26th with a time of 27:26, followed by Matthew Bailey in 36th at 28:05 and senior Ricky Fort in 47th with a time of 28:44 to round out the scoring. Sophomore Tanner Thomas finished 50th with a time of 28:53 and junior Ciaran Lane finished 76th at 30:35.
Clayton State will take off next week before returning to action on Saturday, November 3rd in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, NC.
