Women's Cross Country | January 10, 2023

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Peach Belt Conference announced on Tuesday morning its selections for the Team of Academic Distinction (TOAD) for women's cross country.  Clayton State University saw two of its runners receive this honor.  This specific distinction is sponsored by Barnes & Noble College. 
 
Seniors Stephanie Escobar and Sasha Knowles were the lone participants from the women's team this season.  Stephanie received her fourth PBC TOAD accolade while Knowles earned her third career PBC TOAD distinction.
 
A native of Forest Park, Ga., Escobar has been a mainstay on the Clayton State cross country team since 2018.  Since her arrival, Escobar has been a two-time recipient of the PBC Presidential Honor Roll and D2 ADA Academic Distinction.  Majoring in nursing, Escobar was the team MVP in 2021 and has ran in 24 career races.  In those 24 career races, Stephanie has one top-15 finish and ran her best 5K time at the 2020 PBC Championships (20.02.0). 
 
A native of Nassau, The Bahamas, Knowles began her Laker career in 2019.  Since her arrival to Morrow, Knowles is a two-time recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Distinction and earned the PBC Presidential Honor Roll recognition in 2020.  Majoring in Biology, Knowles is just one of three PBC women's cross country runners that earned a 4.00 GPA.  In her Laker career, Sasha has competed in 19 races and placed saw her best time in the 5K at the 2020 PBC Championships (21:30.2). 
 
About the Distinction
The team is a part of the PBC's larger initiative to celebrate the academic achievements of PBC student-athletes and is modeled on the CSC (College Sports Communicators) Academic All-America program.

To be eligible for the team, a student-athlete must 1) participate in at least half of his/her team's events and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and 3) completed at least one full academic year at his or her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility. The Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Directors oversee the program.

About Barnes & Noble College

Barnes & Noble College currently operates more than 1,400 campus bookstores and their school-branded e-commerce sites, serving more than 6 million college students and faculty nationwide. As a strategic partner, Barnes & Noble College is a retail and learning company. The company is headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
 
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