FORT BENNING, Ga. – Taking on a course they had run on just last month, Clayton State men's cross country finished 6-of-8 at the 2017 Peach Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, October 21. On the day they tallied 185 points.
 
Junior T.J. Witherspoon (Thomasville, Ga.) delivered a personal best on the 8k circuit as he bested his previous time by more than 12 seconds. His mark of 27:11.70 was the Lakers top time and good for a 31-of-70 finish.
 
He was followed by junior Ryan Polk (Marietta, Ga.) as he ran a time of 27:31.70 to finish in 38^th while sophomore Keldren Reddick (Thomasville, Ga.) was just seconds from a PR in 41^st (27:38.50).
 
Sophomore Evan Ortiz (McDonough, Ga.) was 44^th at 27:49.00 and freshman Zach Czerniak (Suwanee, Ga.) notched his fastest 8k time, 28:22.70, to come in at 49^th. Freshman Riley Higginbotham (Locust Grove, Ga.) also posted a PR with a mark of 29:20.80, finishing in 55^th.
 
Augusta claimed the PBC Championship with 23 points with UNC Pembroke a distant second at 66 points. Georgia College (78), Columbus State (80) and Flagler (98) rounded out the top five.
 
Clayton State returns to action on Saturday, November 4 when they travel to Wingate, North Carolina for the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship. Hosted by Wingate, that race will be on a 10k course and begin at 10:15 a.m.
 
Clayton State Finishers at Peach Belt Conference Championships (8k)
T.J. Witherspoon – 31-of-70 (27:11.70)*
Ryan Polk – 38-of-70 (27:31.70)
Keldren Reddick – 41-of-70 (27:38.50)
Evan Ortiz – 44-of-70 (27:49.00)
Zach Czerniak – 49-of-70 (28:22.70)*
Jason Dang – 53-of-70 (28:56.50)
Riley Higginbotham – 55-of-70 (29:20.80)*
Alex Ortiz – 60-of-70 (30:16.00)*
Rafael Salis – 65-of-70 (31:30.50)
*Indicates Personal Best