AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Peach Belt Conference announced on Tuesday morning its selections for the Team of the Academic Distinction for men's and women's cross country, Presented by Barnes & Noble College.  The Clayton State University cross country teams saw three of its student-athletes land on this list. 
 
Sancho Smith was the lone Laker men's selection while JaBresha Palmer and Ivorie Smith represented the Lakers on the women's side.  Both Sancho and Ivorie Smith earned this honor for the second time while Palmer earned this honor for the first time. In all, between the two genders, there were 51 selections across the conference. 
 
A junior from Bermuda, Smith can add this distinction to an impressive list of academic achievements including D2ADA Academic Achievement, CSC Academic All-District, and PBC Presidential Honor Roll.  Sancho ran in three meets for the Lakers and clocked a best time of 29:05 at the Georgia Tech XC Invitational.
 
A junior from Locust Grove, Ga., Palmer, who is a two-time PBC Presidential Honor Roll recipient, can add this distinction to her academic successes.  This season, JaBresha finished in the top four on the team in all five meets raced in and saw her best time at the Julius Johnson Invitational clocking a time of 21:50.5.  A junior from LaGrange, Ga., Smith added this to a list of academic honors that includes a CSC Academic All-District distinction, a PBC Presidential Honor Roll, and D2ADA Academic Achievement mention.  This season saw Ivorie finish in the top three in each of the five meets raced in.  She clocked her best time at the PBC XC Championships finishing with a time of 20:13. 
 
ABOUT THE AWARD
To be eligible for this distinction, 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 communications professionals oversee the program.
 
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