Columbus State Finishes Second at Men's Cross Country Regional; Advances to Nationals

WINGATE, NC – The Columbus State Cougars finished second of 20 teams at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships and qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa. The Cougars finished with 87 points and will join meet winner Queens as the two teams from the region to advance to the nationals.

The Cougars put four runners in the top 21 to reach the nationals. David Marley, who won the PBC Championship, was the first across the line in eighth place, covering the 10k course in 33:04. Roger Hagues was second in 15th place with a time of 33:39. Both were named to the All-Region team.

Stewart Helton finished 19th in 33:57 while Stephen Waynick was 21st in 34:08. John Neill finished out the top five for CSU in 28th place with a time of 34:34.

Francis Marion’s Hillary Kiprop was the second PBC runner across the line behind Marley, running the course in 33:24 to finish 10th. Francis Marion as a team finished 15th.

Despite having three runners finish in the Top 20, the Clayton State men could not catch Columbus State in the last two runners for points. Anthony Aguilar was the top Laker finisher, coming in 11th in 33:25 in the 10K event, followed by Joey Chino in 12th at 33:29 and Walid Berkhedle in 14th at 33:35. All three runners earned All-Region honors for their finishes.

Fidelis Mutiso placed 23rd for the Lakers in 34:14. while Au Nguyen finished 53rd in 35:45 and Jarrid Casimir placed 66th in 36:23. Cesar Valdinvino rounded out the Clayton State runners, placing 100th in 38:38.

Georgia College & State University took ninth, two spots better than a year ago, and had 259 points. They were third among PBC schools. Freshman Rob Manning snapped the school record in the 10k, finishing 18th in 33:56, just three spots out of All-Region honors. Manning edged teammate Josh Hollar’s record by 16 seconds, a mark he set at this meet a year ago.

Freshman Colin Conroy was second, finishing 44th in 35:16, while Hollar came in 47th (35:26). Conroy’s time is the ninth-best in program history, while Hollar’s ranks 10th.
North Georgia was 12th overall as Alan Schmitz finished 61st in a time of 36:12, six seconds ahead of teammate Tyler Mattix who was 62nd. UNC Pembroke was 17th in the field with Christian Wiscovitch the first Brave to cross the line in 85 in 37:36.

The NCAA National Championships will be run on Nov. 22 in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Full Team Results (PDF)
Full Individual Results (PDF)