Columbus State Captures Men's and Women's PBC Cross Country Titles

MILLEDGEVILLE, GA – For the third straight year, the Columbus State men’s and women’s cross country teams won the Peach Belt Conference Championship, which was run on the West Campus Course at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville on Saturday. The CSU men’s team brought home all five of their scoring runners in the top eight spots while the women put four of five runners in the top 10.

Columbus State’s David Marley set the pace for the men’s team. The junior was the surprise winner of the men’s race, covering the 8k course in 27:18 for his first win of the season. Marley finished eight seconds ahead of teammate Stephen Waynick who was fourth in 27:26 and named the PBC Freshman of the Year. Tim English was sixth in 27:37, John Neill in seventh at 27:39 and Stewart Helton in eighth in 27:52.

CSU won their third straight PBC Championship with the effort and had their best team score of the three with 26 points. Clayton State was second with 42, GCSU third with 100 and North Georgia fourth with 109. Francis Marion finished in fifth and UNC Pembroke sixth.

Clayton State’s Joey Chino finished second in the running in 27:20, two seconds behind Marley. Francis Marion’s Hillary Kiprop was third in 27:26, holding off Waynick by less than two-tenths of a second. Clayton State’s Anthony Aguilar was ninth and teammate Fidelis Mutiso 11th.

Columbus State becomes the first men’s team to win three straight PBC Championships since Kennesaw State won four in a row from 2001-04.

For the women, the Lady Cougars won their fourth straight PBC title on Saturday, becoming the first team to win four in a row since Kennesaw State won seven straight from 1994-2000. Like the men’s team, the women had their best score on Saturday of their four titles with 33 points. Augusta State finished second with 54 while North Georgia was third with 110, GCSU fourth with 126 and USC Aiken fifth with 150. UNC Pembroke ran sixth, Lander seventh, Clayton State eighth, Francis Marion ninth and Georgia Southwestern 10th.

Clayton State’s Allison Kreutzer was named the PBC Individual Champion, becoming the fourth woman in conference history to win the award twice. Kreutzer also won as a freshman in 2004. On Saturday, the senior covered the 5k course in 19:25, 19 seconds ahead of second-place Jenafer Forward from Augusta State.

Columbus State’s Kandace Smith was the first Lady Cougar to cross the line, finishing third in 20:32. She was followed by teammates Andrea Lewallen in fourth and Andrea Whitaker in fifth. Francis Marion’s Kelly May was sixth in 20:59 while ASU’s Sophie Baconnet was seventh with 21:08.

The top five men’s runners were named PBC First-Team All-Conference while the second five were named to the second team. The top seven women’s runners were also named First-Team All-Conference with second team honors going to the next seven. Most PBC teams in action on Saturday will return for the NCAA Southeast Regional which will be run on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Wingate, N.C.

Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Team
First Team
David Marley, Columbus State
Joey Chino, Clayton State
Hillary Kiprop, Francis Marion
Stephen Waynick, Columbus State (PBC Freshman of the Year)
Walid Berkhedle, Clayton State
Second Team
Tim English, Columbus State
John Neill, Columbus State
Stewart Helton, Columbus State
Anthony Aguilar, Clayton State
Roger Hagues, Columbus State

Women’s Cross Country All-Conference Team
First Team
Allison Kreutzer, Clayton State
Jenafer Forward, Augusta State
Kandace Smith, Columbus State
Andrea Lewallen, Columbus State
Andera Whitaker, Columbus State
Kelly May, Francis Marion
Second Team
Kara Kreutzer, Augusta State
Olga Nunez-Lopez, Lander
Brittany Skiles, Columbus State
Ashley Arnold, Columbus State
Savannah Sutton, Augusta State (PBC Freshman of the Year)
Nicole Maitland, USC Aiken
Katie Vance, North Georgia

Men's Results (PDF) | Women's Results (PDF)

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