FORT BENNING, Ga. – Junior Carla Catala Martin (Barcelona, Spain) accomplished something not seen in nearly a decade as Clayton State women's cross country earned a runner-up finish at the 14^th Annual Cougar Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 23. The Lakers finished with 78 points to earn second place.
 
Catala Martin has led Clayton State in each of their three meets so far this season and took it a step further on Saturday. Her time of 18:42.46 not only earned her a runner-up finish of her own and obliterated her previous 5k personal best of 19:25.10 set last year, it put her in some lofty company.
 
It was the 21^st fastest 5k time in program history, and the fastest since 2008. The individual that ran a faster time that year, a 17:50.00, was Clayton State Hall of Famer Allison Kreutzer.
 
While certainly impressive, it was not a singular effort. Junior Lynnet Kosgei (Eldoret, Kenya) was 11^th with a time of 19:23.09, resetting her own PR by more than a minute.
 
Rounding out the top performers would be senior Joy Diaz (Riverdale, Ga.) with a 25-of-95 (20:45.33) outing and junior Ariel Boyd-Ghani (Morrow, Ga.). The latter finished right behind Diaz in 26^th with a mark of 20:50.26.
 
It would be a sweep of the top three spots by Peach Belt Conference schools as North Georgia posted a dominant 20 point showing. Directly behind the Lakers 78 point outing would be rival Columbus State with 79 points.
 
Clayton State will return to the course when they travel to Milledgeville, Georgia for the Bobcat Invitational on Friday, October 6. Start time for the 6k event is slated for 5:45 p.m. following the men's race earlier in the evening. It will also be the final regular season meet of the year before heading into the 2017 Peach Belt Conference Championships in mid-October.
 
Clayton State Finishers at 14^th Annual Cougar Cross Country Invitational
Carla Catala Martin – 2-of-95 (18:42.46)
Lynnet Kosgei – 11-of-95 (19:23.09)
Joy Diaz – 25-of-95 (20:45.33)
Ariel Boyd-Ghani – 26-of-95 (20:50.26)
Hailey Budd – 41-of-95 (22:01.35)
Laura Shkembi – 47-of-95 (22:44.87)