Georgia College & State University (GCSU) men’s and women's crosscountry teams finished in fourth place overall at the 2023 Peach Belt Championship (PBC) Oct. 21 at the University of North Georgia’s (UNG) Cross Country Course.
The male bobcats finished with 115 points and just 12 points out of third place, while Augusta University won its fifth consecutive league championship with 22 points. GCSU equaled last year's fourthplace finish at the meet.
Philip Bulatao, who was named to the All-Peach Belt Sportsmanship Team, was the top Bobcat in the field with an 8K time of 26:21.5 to finish in 20th overall.
Daniel Laird was the top-finishing freshman who was also among his teams' top seven runners and was named the PBC Freshman of the Year with a personal-best time of 27:00.7. Laird shaved 22 seconds off his previous best and finished in 29th.
Caleb Carter posted a time of 27:31.6 and came in 37th, while Evan Rehrauer was 41st with a time of 27:36.1. Caiden Curtis finished in 49th with a time of 28:16.1 and teammate Peyton Harley was right behind him in 50th with a time of 28:18.3. William Wright was the other GCSU runner to set a personal-best time as he finished in 52nd with an effort of 28:20.7.
Jack Sisk's 28:40.1 finished him in 54th, while Jack Rea (29:07.8) and Denver Oakes (29:13.5) finished in 56th and 57th, respectively. Brendan Rice finished in 66th at 30:13.2, while Tucker Balch rounded out the GCSU runners in 77th with a time of (33:00.7).
The female Bobcats had their best finish in the championship since GCSU finished in fourth place back in 2018. Georgia College finished with 103 points, while Flagler College won their sixth consecutive title with 19 points.
Leading the way was Anna Agi, who set a personal-best 5K time of 18:42.9 to finish in 16th overall, finishing one position out of becoming a three-time All-Peach Belt performer. Agi's time, which was 34 seconds better than her previous best, was the third fastest in the program's history.
Calli Crawford and Jillian Muncus also each set PRs, just narrowly missing the top 20. Crawford's time of 19:01.2 was good for 21st, while Muncus was a spot back in 22nd with an effort of 19:10.6.
Lorena Cazora and Emma Segars also set personal bests as Cazona placed 28th with a time of 19:23.8 and Segars placed 38th with a time of 19:39.9.
The Bobcats had four runners finish within 12 seconds of one another. Alvia Blanton posted a PR of 20:34.7 to finish in 51st, while Kylee Geveke collected her best time of 20:35.0 coming in 52nd.
Emily Wright had a time of 20:35.9 to finish in 53rd, while Jenny Goodwin had her PR of 20:46.6 and came in 55th. Maddie Reese Smith rounded out the GCSU contingent with a personal- best effort of 22:12.3 and came in 68th.
Also, Bobcats' Brooke Mooney was named to the league's All-Sportsmanship team.
Georgia College will soon return to the UNG Cross Country Course to compete in the 2023 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.