FORT BENNING, Ga. – A pair personal bests helped fuel a 3-of-9 finish for Clayton State men's cross country at the 14^th Annual Cougar Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 23. The Lakers earned the third place finish on the 8k course with 61 points on the day.
 
Junior T.J. Witherspoon (Thomasville, Ga.) delivered one of the PR's as he finished 9-of-75 with a mark of 27:07.86. That surpassed his previous time of 27:23.30 set at the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Championships (10/22).
 
Fellow junior Ryan Polk (Marietta, Ga.) notched a 10^th place finish with a time of 27:07.95 and was followed closely by sophomore Evan Ortiz (McDonough, Ga.) in 11^th. His time of 27:10.68 was also an 8k personal best. Sophomore Keldren Reddick (Thomasville, Ga.) rounded out the top performances with a PR of his own, coming in in 17^th at 27:36.65.
 
Mars Hill took home the team title with 32 points while host Columbus State was second with 42.
 
Clayton State will be back in action following another weekend off before they head to Milledgeville, Georgia for the Bobcat Invitational on Friday, October 6. That meet will be an 8k beginning at 5:15 p.m. and will be the last regular season meet of the year.
 
Clayton State Finishers at 14^th Annual Cougar Cross Country Invitational
T.J. Witherspoon – 9-of-75 (27:07.86)
Ryan Polk – 10-of-75 (27:07.95)
Evan Ortiz – 11-of-75 (27:10.68)
Keldren Reddick – 17-of-75 (27:36.65)
Jason Dang – 26-of-75 (28:41.18)
Zach Czerniak – 32-of-75 (29:08.22)
Riley Higginbotham – 35-of-75 (29:43.15)
Alex Ortiz – 39-of-75 (31:05.35)