EVANS, GA – The Francis Marion University men’s and women’s cross country teams placed fifth and sixth respectively at Saturday’s (Oct. 20) Peach Belt Conference championship meet, while Columbus State University captured both men’s and women’s team titles for the second straight year.

The races were run at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga.

In the men’s competition, CSU had four runners in the top 11 and compiled 41 points to edge Clayton State University, which ran second with 47 points. Georgia College & State University was third with 56 points, followed by North Georgia College & State University (81), and FMU (133).

On the women’s side, the Lady Cougars had three of the top five runners and finished with 39 points, beating out host Augusta State University (46). GC&SU was third with 102 points, followed by USC Aiken (131), Lander University (140), FMU (162), UNC Pembroke (163), North Georgia (166), and Clayton State (222).

Freshman Ben Miller led the FMU men with a 19th-place finish. He completed the 8,000-meter race in a career-best time of 28:14.87. Other Patriot finishers included freshman Jerry Roth in 31st position (career-best 29:49.26), Steven Holmes in 33rd (29:53.28), Dan Brann in 34th (30:10.20), Ariel Ortiz in 37th (33:12.53), and Caleb Welch in 40th (34:39.13). Two Patriots competed as unattached runners and recorded career-best times: Chris Rice placed 36th in 33:10.55 and Kyle Green placed 41st in 34:47.32.

The Patriot women were led by senior Codi Knoch with an 18th-place showing in a time of 21:31.41 over the 5,000-meter layout. Junior Kelly May finished 31st in a time of 22:30.75, followed by Amanda Doyle in 38th (23:12.91), freshman Emma Dooley in 39th (career-best 23:17.70), Kim Richardson in 48th (23:58.33), and Holly Todd in 54th (24:21.65).

The women’s race was won by Columbus State’s Isabel Speer, who covered the track in a course-record 20:03. Speer, who was named the PBC Runner of the Year for her effort, finished 28 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.

Clayton State’s Walid Berkhedle roared off the starting line and never looked back to win the men’s race in 26:43. A true freshman, he was named the PBC Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year, the second straight freshman to claim both awards.

Augusta State’s Adam Ward was named the PBC women’s Coach of the Year, while GC&SU’s Joe Samprone took home the men’s coaching award.

Both FMU squads will compete in the NCAA Division II South Regional Meet, Nov. 3 in Huntsville, Ala.