BEECH ISLAND, S.C. – For the second straight meet junior Evan Ortiz (McDonough, Ga.) led Clayton State men's cross country as they posted a 3-of-8 finish at the Jaguar Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 22. As a team they finished with 101 points, coming in behind Augusta (17) and Georgia College (54).
 
Ortiz delivered a 7-of-59 performance behind a personal best time of 27:06.01 to fuel the Lakers while senior T.J. Witherspoon (Thomasville, Ga.) was 18^th with a mark of 27:48.42. Senior Ryan Polk (Marietta, Ga.) rounded out the top three finishers at 23-of-59 (28:29.58) and sophomore Zach Czerniak (Suwanee, Ga.) came in in 32^nd after posting a time of 29:53.17.
 
After being off for more than three weeks, the Lakers will be right back in action on Saturday, September 29 when they travel to Oxford, Alabama for the JSU Foothills Invitational. Hosted by Division I Jacksonville State, that 7k race will begin at 9:45 a.m. (EST).
 
Clayton State Finishers at Jaguar Cross Country Invitational
Evan Ortiz – 7-of-59 (27:06.01)
T.J. Witherspoon – 18-of-59 (27:48.42)
Ryan Polk – 23-of-59 (28:29.58)
Zach Czerniak – 32-of-59 (29:53.17)
Na'im Allen – 41-of-59 (31:27.93)
Jason Dang – 46-of-59 (32:10.92)