BEECH ISLAND, S.C. – For the first time since September 2, 2016, someone other than senior Carla Catala Martin (Barcelona, Spain) led Clayton State in competition and that person was fellow senior Ariel Boyd-Ghani (Morrow, Ga.) as the Lakers came in 4-of-10 at the Jaguar Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 22.
 
Boyd-Ghani finished 16-of-79 with a time of 20:27.58 to shatter her 5k personal best by better than 22 seconds, surpassing her previous mark of 20:50.26 set at the Cougar Cross Country Invitational on September 23, 2017. That finish made her the first Laker other than Catala Martin to lead the team since Joy Diaz did it at the start of the 2016 season. That covers a stretch of 12 straight meets.
 
Now, that's not to say that Catala Martin was far behind – she came in in 25^th with a time of 21:04.16 and was the team's second highest finisher. Joining her were senior Lynnet Kosgei (Eldoret, Kenya) in 27^th with a time of 22:44.16 and sophomore Na'ilah Allen (McDonough, Ga.) made her debut with a time of 21:11.04 and 28^th place finish.
 
Freshman Stephanie Escobar (Forest Park, Ga.) came in in 47^th with a time of 22:39.53 and fellow freshman Grainne Lane (Waterford, Ireland) rounded out things at 27:36.03.
 
As a team the Lakers notched 114 points, finishing behind North Georgia (28), Georgia College (58) and host Augusta (75).
 
Clayton State will be right back in action on Saturday, September 29 as they travel to Oxford, Alabama for the JSU Foothills Invitational. Hosted by Division I Jacksonville State, that 5k race will go at 9 a.m. (EST).
 
NOTES
Catala Martin had led the Lakers in every meet since September 10, 2016, a span of 12 straight.
 
Clayton State Finishers at Jaguar Cross Country Invitational
Ariel Boyd-Ghani – 16-of-79 (20:27.58)*
Carla Catala Martin – 25-of-79 (21:04.16)
Lynnet Kosgei – 27-of-79 (21:08.55)
Na'ilah Allen – 28-of-79 (21:11.04)
Stephanie Escobar – 47-of-79 (22:39.53)*
Grainne Lane – 75-of-79 (27:36.03)
*Personal Best