MORROW, Ga. – On August 18, 1997, Clayton State Athletics completed a significant transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. The 2017-18 season marked the 20^th anniversary of that accomplishment. Over a seven week span, the Sports Information Office is releasing the top 20 moments in the NCAA era, one on each Monday, Wednesday and Friday with select exceptions.
  The countdown continues with the No. 19 moment, Women's Cross Country Wins PBC and Heads to 2012 NCAA National Championships. The Lakers had had several individuals make it to the national stage but had never made the trip and scored as a team.
 
The 2012 squad accomplished things that no other women's cross country team in the history of Clayton State had. That included the first Peach Belt Conference Championship and a berth in the national championships, the latter coming with a runner-up finish in the region meet. They would go on to finish 28^th in the nation at the NCAA Division II National Championships.
 
Below are the original releases for the Lakers first PBC Championship (October 20, 2012), first ever team qualification for the national championships (November 3, 2012) and the preview for nationals from November 17, 2012.
  MONTEVALLO, Ala.  – "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" After finishing second four times in the program's 17-year  history of running in the Peach Belt Conference meet, the 2012 Clayton State women's cross country team was able to achieve a feat that no other Laker women's cross country team has ever managed.
 
The Lakers won their first Peach Belt Conference Championship in women's cross country Saturday at the meet held on the campus of Montevallo in Alabama. Clayton State has now won a Peach Belt Conference Championship in every sport in the league.
 
"We finally won a Peach Belt Conference title and it sure feels great," said head coach Mike Mead. "These ladies worked hard this summer and this season to earn the program its first conference title. It was touch and go mid-race, but it came together in the last 1K where it mattered. We set a team record with our Top 5 averaging 23:27 per runner for 6K."
 
The Lakers finished with a meet low 63 points ahead of rival Columbus State, who finished second with 70 points. UNC Pembroke placed third with 103 points, followed by Montevallo in fourth with 113 points and Georgia College rounding out the top five with 148 points.
 
"Our Top 3 of (Racquel) Valadez, (Samantha) Walling, and Paige Galvin finished in the Top seven for first team All-PBC honors," said Mead. "Jessica Smith and (Maia) Kuhnen locked it up by placing in the Top 25, while Taylor Galvin and (Gisele) Javois were right there with Kuhnen at the finish for Top 30 finishes."
 
Along with Valadez, Walling and Galvin being named All-Conference, Mead was named conference "Coach of the Year" for the sixth time in his career.
 
Clayton State sophomore Racquel Valadez led the way for the team, finishing third in the meet with a time of 22:51, the 13^th fastest 6K in Laker history. Valadez was only 15 seconds off the winning time of Livia Mahaffie of UNC Pembroke.
 
"Racquel ran a superb race, moving up from about 16th at the mile mark to 3^rd overall," said Mead.
 
Behind Valadez, junior Samantha Walling finished sixth in the race with a time of 23:05. Walling passed a number of runners in the last half of the race to earn All-Conference honors for the second year in a row and to help lead the Lakers to the title. Her time is the 17th best on the All-time Clayton State 6K list.
 
Senior Paige Galvin also delivered when it mattered most, also earning All-Conference honors for the second time. She finished with a time of 23:07 for a seventh place finish, her highest finish in a league meet.                                                                                             
 
Battling an injury, sophomore Jessica Smith finished 22nd with a time of 23:59 and sophomore Maia Kuhnen rounded out the scoring for Clayton State placing 25^th with a personal best time of 24:12.
 
"Jess ran a gutsy race considering the physical setbacks coming back from an injury that kept her out of making All-PBC again this year," said Mead. "She's a key to our region success in two weeks."
 
Freshman Taylor Galvin and junior Gisele both had a personal best time of 24:13 to finish 27^th and 28^th in the meet. Sophomore Holly McNorton placed 55^th with a season best time of 26:09, followed by sophomore Kendra Wilson finishing 59th with a time of 26:34.
 
Clayton State will take off next week before returning to action on Saturday, November 3^rd in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte, N.C.
  CHARLOTTE, N.C.  – The Clayton State women's cross country team is headed to the NCAA National Championships for the first time in the program's history. 
 
The Lakers finished second Saturday in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, advancing to NCAA Division II National Championships in Joplin, Mo. Clayton State finished with 99 points for second place behind Peach Belt Conference rival Columbus with a meet low 87 points.
 
"I come away with mixed feelings on this one, despite the history that this team established today. They became the first women's team to earn a trip to the NCAA championship meet by placing four in the Top 25," said head coach Mike Mead. "But we came up short in winning a region title. I'm extremely proud of these hard-running ladies and they have realized our team goal of going to nationals."
 
As one of the top three teams in the field of 27, Clayton State advances to the NCAA Division II National Championships on November 17th that will hosted by Missouri Southern State University. Conference foe UNC Pembroke rounded out the top three to qualify for the national meet.
 
Clayton State senior Paige Galvin led the way Saturday, placing fourth overall in the meet with a time of 22:58 in the 6K meet. She was only 18 seconds behind the region winning time of Kaley Glover of Montevallo.
 
"Paige (Galvin) delivered her finest race to date with our highest individual region finish since Allison
Kreutzer won the 2008 region title," said Mead. "She cracked the 23 minute 6K mark for the first time and picked up her second straight All-Region award. She now has run three Top 25 all-time team bests for 6K."
 
Behind Galvin, sophomore Racquel Valadez placed 11^th with a time of 23:21 to also garner All-Region honors, followed by sophomore Jessica Smith finishing 16th with a time of 23:32. Junior Samantha Walling placed 21st with a time of 23:40. Both Smith and Walling were also named to the All-Region team by placing in the Top 25.
 
 Junior Gisele Javois rounded out the scoring for Clayton State finishing 55^th with a time of 24:34.
 
"Gisele (Javois) saved our bacon today," said Mead. "She has turned in two consecutive big-time efforts the past two meets to help us win a conference title and a trip to nationals. She is a totally different runner than from a year ago."
 
Freshman Taylor Galvin placed 66^th with a time of 24:50, followed by sophomore Maia Kuhnen, who has been limited since the conference meet due to an injury, finished 79^th with a time of 25:17.
  MORROW, Ga.  – The Clayton State women's cross country will make history on Saturday.
 
For the first time in program history, the Laker women"s squad will compete in the NCAA Division II National Cross Country meet. Clayton State qualified for the 32-team meet, which is being run in Joplin, Mo., after placing second in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional earlier this month. The race will start at 11:30 a.m. CDT.
 
"The hard work and 6:30 a.m. runs paid off this season," said head coach Mike Mead. "This has been the best focused group of runners I've coached here at Clayton State. We're going to be in a battle come Saturday. We'll get our first taste of elite NCAA Division II cross country racing. If we stick to our race plan, we can have the program's best 6K effort and perhaps an All-America in the mix, too!"
 
Although a Laker women's team has never advanced to the NCAA Division II national meet, the program has fared well at the national meet, as former Clayton State standouts Allison Kreutzer and Angela Cobb have competed in the event as individuals. Kreutzer competed three times, earned All-America twice and had a top-15 finish twice, including a runner-up finish as a freshman in 2004. Cobb earned All-America honors in 2006 with a 20^th place finish and set the current team 6K record at 20:51.60.
 
The 2012 season has been filled with several impressive feats for the Clayton State women's program. Some of team's achievements include: Winning its first Peach Belt title, capturing first place finishes at two meets, earning its first trip to NCAA nationals as a team, compiling a dual meet record of 75-12, earning its highest NCAA Regional meet finish and receiving its highest region ranking during the season (No. 1).
 
From an individual perspective, the program also had several first-time accomplishments with three runners being named both All-PBC and All-Region in Paige Galvin, Racquel Valadez and Samantha Walling, four athletes earning All-Region honors in Galvin, Valadez, Walling and Jessica Smith and finally having four athletes named to the PBC All-Academic team in Galvin, Walling, Smith and Maia Kuhnen.
 
Entering the meet, Coach Mead says, the critical spot will be how the team's No. 5 runner finishes in relation to the Lakers top four runners in Galvin, Valadez, Walling and Smith.
 
"Maia, Taylor Galvin and Gisele (Javois) have battled this season to keep close with our top four," said Mead. "All three had terrific finishes at conference and we're going to need more of the same at Saturday's national meet. We don't plan to just show up. We want to be competitive and represent Clayton State, the Peach Belt and our region well in Joplin."
 
Mead says, Valadez and Paige Galvin both have legitimate shots at a Top-40 finish if they will run smart and aggressively.
 
"Paige has been the consummate leader for the past two years and I'm pleased with her successes this season," said Mead. "Racquel has been a surprise for us and has been a fine addition to the program, leading us in four of our six meets. Samantha and Jessica have had fine seasons, considering some minor setbacks early on and are key to how high we can finish as a team."
 
Clayton State is one of three Peach Belt schools in the national meet along with Columbus State and UNC Pembroke. The top four teams and top-15 individuals earn NCAA awards.  The top 40 individuals earn All-America honors through the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Augustana (S.D.) is the defending champion, ranked No. 1 nationally, and the pre-meet favorite.
 
Schedule of NCAA 20^th Anniversary Countdown Releases
No. 1 (July 11)
No. 2 (July 9)
No. 3 (July 5)
No. 4 (July 2)
No. 5 (June 29)
No. 6 (June 27)
No. 7 (June 25)
No. 8 (June 22)
No. 9 (June 20)
No. 10 (June 18)
No. 11 (June 15)
No. 12 (June 13)
No. 13 (June 11)
No. 14 (June 8)
No. 15 (June 6)
No. 16 (June 4)
No. 17 (June 1)
No. 18 (May 30)
No. 19 Women's Cross Country Wins PBC and Heads to 2012 NCAA National Championships (May 28)
No. 20 Women's Tennis Makes NCAA Tournament in 1999 (May 25)