Kreutzer named All-America again, places 
11^th at NCAA XC Championships; men finish 23^rd  

Chino, CA - November 19, 2005 – For the second straight year, Clayton State sophomore Allison Kreutzer was named an All-America at the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships run Saturday in Chino, CA. The Laker men’s team also competed in the event, placing 23rd overall. 

Kreutzer, who finished second in the nation as a freshman last year, placed 11th in this year’s race with a time of 21:48.2 in a field of more than 180 runners. Mandi Zemba of Grand Valley State won the race with a time of 21:07.7. 

Senior Manuel Aguilar led a short-handed Clayton State men’s team that was without of the services of No. 5 runner Peter Gajda. Aguilar finished 87th in the race of more than 180 of best runners in country with a time of 34:20.6. 

Sophomore Josh Myers placed 119th with a time of 35:18.5, followed by senior Jose Garduno in 127th with a time of 35:30.5. Junior Bobby Valadez placed 142nd  with a time of 36:00, followed by Billy Joe Brown in 171st with a time of 42:56.8. 

Western State won the meet with 51 points, followed by Adams State with 108 and Chico State with 127. 

Clayton State Runners Gear for NCAA Meet 

MORROW, GA -- November 15, 2005 – It’s been a roller coaster season for the Clayton State University men’s cross country team, but they appear ready for their biggest challenge to date when they compete in Saturday’s NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships in Chino, Calif.  Also ready is women’s sophomore runner Allison Kreutzer who hopes for similar success that she experienced at the 2004 NCAA meet in which she finished second. 

“Our bunch is ready,” declared Clayton State head coach Mike Mead.  “This is our first shot in the national meet and we want to have a successful experience.  By no means do we have a shot at the Top 10, but we can make our mark and try to improve on it in future seasons.” 

The Clayton State cross country program, which will conclude its 11^th season on Saturday, made big gains this season by winning the men’s Peach Belt Conference title in October and recorded its highest finish two weeks ago at the NCAA South Regional meet with a third place finish. 

It’s been nine years since the Clayton State men’s team last had representation at a national meet when three runners (Danny Brock, Gary Ginn & Tye Walker) ran at the 1996 NAIA national meet in Parkside, Wisconsin.  That same year also marked the last time a Clayton State cross country team ran in a national meet when the women’s team finished 28^th out of 35 teams. 

The Lakers will have an edge at the NCAA’s since the squad’s three fastest guys all hail from the Los Angeles area where the meet will be run.  The L.A. trio includes junior Bobby Valadez and seniors Manuel Aguilar and Jose Garduno.  Valadez has been a solid leader this season and established several firsts for the squad, including the first to break 25:00 for 8K and the first to win the conference individual title and earn “Runner of the Year” honors. 

“We’re a much better team with Bobby this season,” said Mead.  “He has a great work ethic and his teammates have responded. He’s made better runners out of Manny and Jose and they all come ready to run when it counts.”  Both Aguilar and Garduno earned all-conference honors (second time for Aguilar) at the Peach Belt meet, while Garduno and Valadez both earned All-Region honors at the Regional meet. 

The Lakers have gotten solid running from sophomore transfer Josh Myers (Cochran, Ga.) who placed 20^th at the regional meet as the Lakers’ No. 4 man and was an all-conference finisher at the Peach Belt meet.  At No. 5 is sophomore Peter Gajda (Mermaid Mist, Australia) who has had some misfortunes this season.  Rounding out the squad is freshman walk-on Billy Joe Brown (Locust Grove, Ga.) from Luella High School. 

“Josh has had a solid runner and the 10K distance suits him better,” said Mead.  “Peter has had some setbacks that included a broken hand, but he competes when it counts.  He collapsed at the finish line at the region meet to secure our berth to the national meet and had to be hospitalized for a short while afterwards.  Billy is adjusting to the transition from high school to college and this rare experience at nationals should fire him up.” 

Kreutzer, the top returning finisher from the 2004 NCAA Championships, may have a tougher time duplicating last year’s finish.  In 2004, She finished no worse than second in the cross country meets she competed in, but this season she did not hit the 5K times she ran a year ago. 

“Alison made some adjustments to her training that effected her racing earlier in the season,” said Mead.  “To her credit, she finished consistently in the Top 5 of every meet she ran in this fall.  We’re still going for the win.  We’ll just have to see how the field responds to the course on race day and how Allison reacts.” 

Clayton State men's cross country team places third at NCAA Region meet, qualifies for nationals; Kreutzer places fourth

Dade City, FL --- November 5, 2005 --- The Clayton State University men’s cross country team placed third Saturday in the NCAA Division II South Region meet, qualifying for the first time in history to compete in the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships later this month.  

The top three teams from the South Region meet qualified for national meet. Gulf South Conference champion Harding won the meet with 32 points, followed by Sunshine State Conference champion Florida Southern with 78 points and Clayton State, the Peach Belt Conference champion with 101 points. West Florida and Central Arkansas rounded out the top five with 107 points and 209 points, respectively.  

Junior Bobby Valadez and senior Jose Garduno had the top finishes for the Lakers each receiving All-Region honors. Valadez finished fifth in the meet with a time of 33:44 on the 10K course, while Garduno placed 14^th with a time of 35:06.  

Senior Manuel Aguilar and sophomore Josh Myers placed 19^th and 20^th in the race, respectively with times of 35:35 and 35:36. Sophomore Peter Gajda rounded out the scoring for Clayton State with a time of 37:19 to place 48^th. Freshman Billy Joe Brown finished 118^th with a time of 43:31.  

On the women’s side, Clayton State finished 13^th as a team but did have a top five individual performance with sophomore Allison Kreutzer finishing fourth in the race. The finish qualified her for the national meet as an individual for the second straight season.  

Kruetzer, who was the NCAA Division II runner-up last year, finished with a time of 21:36 on the 6K course. Behind Kruetzer, senior Heather Krhebiel finished 45^th with a time of 24:53, followed by junior Tanika Smit in 87^th with a time of 26:25.  

Junior Cassandra Bolivar finished 97^th with a time of 26:51, followed by junior Melissa Fernandez rounding out the scoring for Clayton State in 106^th with a time of 27:26.  

Harding won the women’s meet with a team score of 67 points, followed by Tampa with 100 points and Alabama Huntsville with 101 points.  

The men’s team along with Kreutzer, competing as an individual, will take off next week before traveling to the national meet on November 19^th in Chino, CA.  

Clayton State men's cross country wins 2005 Peach Belt Conference Championship; women's team finishes third 

Lumberton, NC --- Clayton State University placed four runners in the top eight, including winner Bobby Valadez to lead the Lakers to the program’s first Peach Belt Conference Championship Saturday in Lumberton, NC.  

Clayton State finished with a meet low 31 points in front of UNC Pembroke in second with 49 points and Columbus State University in third with 50 points. On the women’s side, Clayton State finished third behind winner Columbus State University and host UNC Pembroke.

Valadez won Saturday’s meet with a school record time of 24:59.23, 15 seconds head of Columbus State’s Moses Kosgei. Behind Valadez, Manuel Aguilar placed third in the meet with a time of 25:36.29, followed by Jose Garduno in fifth with a time of 25:59.74 and Josh Myers in sixth with a time of 26:12.01. 

All four of Clayton State's top runners were named All-Conference and Valadez was named the Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Year. Head coach Mike Mead was named the men's PBC Coach of the Year the second time he has received the honor.

Clayton State’s Pete Gajda rounded out the scoring for the squad, finishing with a time of 28:00.32. Billy Joe Brown placed 36^th with a time of 31:03.91.

On the women’s side, Kreutzer had the top finish for the Lakers, placing third with a time of 18:03.68. Heather Krehbiel placed eighth with a time of 20:14.22. Both Kreutzer and Krehbiel received All-Conference honors.

Tanika Smit finished 15^th with a time of 21:00.03, followed by Melissa Fernandez with a time of 21:55.18. Katelyn Stache rounded out the scoring for Clayton State in 31^st with a time of 22:15.96.

Clayton State runners gear for Peach Belt Conference
 Championships Saturday at UNC Pembroke 

MORROW, GA -- October 20, 2005 -- The Clayton State University cross country squads finally have a legitimate shot at a Peach Belt Conference Championship in their 11^th try.  This Saturday in Lumberton, N.C. both Laker squads will be in contention for the Peach Belt titles following the departure of Kennesaw State and North Florida moving on to NCAA Division I earlier this year.  The Lakers have finished second the past two seasons at the conference meet while the Clayton State women have finished third the past three seasons. 

“This marks the first time since 1993 that someone other than Kennesaw State or North Florida will come away with the Peach Belt Conference men’s and women’s team titles,” said Clayton State head coach Mike Mead.  “With that said, it’s not going to be an easy win for either team title.  We plan to be in the hunt for both.” 

Mead believes that the men’s team stands the best shot at the conference title, but he doesn’t rule out his women’s squad either.  The Lakers look to battle Columbus State for the men’s title while it may come down to a three-way fight between Clayton State, Columbus State and Lander.  In an earlier season meeting, the Laker men finished ahead of Columbus State in the Pre-Region meet in Florida. 

“We outdistanced Columbus State at the Pre-Region meet, but they did not have their No. 3 runner finish the race,” said Mead.  “They’ve run more consistently than our guys, but we get up for the big meets.” 

The Lakers will have a tough foursome in junior Bobby Valadez, seniors Manuel Aguilar and Jose Garduno and sophomore Josh Myers.  “These four guys are capable of finishing in the Top 8 for all-conference honors, but they’ll have to run smart,” said Mead.  The big question for the Lakers will be the No. 5 spot in which sophomore Peter Gajda has been inconsistent due to injuries.  The Lakers are only carrying six with freshman Billy Joe Brown rounding out the squad after a walk-on quit the team two weeks ago. 

On the women’s side, the Lakers have a strong one-two punch with sophomore Allison Kreutzer and senior Heather Krehbiel.  Kreutzer, the defending Peach Belt individual champ, will have her work cut out for her this year as she goes up against the 2002 PBC champ in North Georgia’s Irina Watkins who ran for Kennesaw State in 2002.  In an earlier meeting this season, Watkins beat Kreutzer.  In addition, Columbus State’s Janet Chepkonga has run sub 17:25 for 5K and will also contend for the individual title.  Krehbiel will be seeking her third All-PBC honor after missing last season’s championship meet. 

The Laker women’s success will come down to its three, four and five runners in juniors Cassandra Bolivar, Melissa Fernandez and Tanika Smit.  The Lakers will also call on sophomore track & field athlete Katelyn Stache who was a consistent No. 5 runner last season although she hadn’t run cross country before. 

“Just like the men, it’s going to come down to our No. 5 runner,” said Mead.  “We have always run well at the conference meet, but we’re experiencing some injuries this season that have hindered our team progress and will challenge us this weekend.” 

Saturday’s championship meet at Luther Britt Park will mark the 15^th for the Peach Belt Conference.  The women’s 5K race will start at 9:30 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K race at 10:30 a.m. 

Clayton State Cross Country teams place
11th at Furman Invitational Saturday

Greenville, SC --- October 8, 2005 --- Both the Clayton State men’s and women’s cross county teams placed 11^{th Saturday in the Furman Invitational in a strong field that included a number of NCAA Division I squads in Greenville, SC.}

Clayton State’s men’s cross country ranked 3^rd in NCAA Division II South Region poll 

Morrow, GA – October 4, 2005 --- Clayton State University men’s cross country team vaulted to its highest NCAA Division II South Region ranking in the program’s history Tuesday, moving up to third in the poll released by the U.S. Track & Field & Cross Country Coaches Assocation.  

The Lakers moved up to third this week on the heels of their best performance of the season, finishing third in the NCAA South Pre-Region meet in Dade City, FL. Harding, from the Gulf South Conference, the defending Region champ, is ranked atop the standings, followed by the Sunshine State Conference’s Florida Southern, the winner of last week’s Pre-Region meet.  

Clayton State, who was ranked seventh in last week’s South Region poll, is the top Peach Belt Conference team in the poll. Behind Clayton State, West Florida from the Gulf South is fourth, followed by Peach Belt rival Columbus State rounding out the top five.  

The top three teams at the NCAA South Region meet in Florida on November 5^th will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships on November 19^th.  

Clayton State’s women’s squad is ranked 10^th in the latest NCAA South Region poll.  

Both Clayton State’s men’s and women’s team will return to action on Saturday, traveling to Greenville, SC for the Furman Invitational.  

NCAA Division II South 
MEN
1. Harding
2. Florida Southern
3. Clayton State (7)
4. West Florida (4)
5. Columbus State (3)
6. Univ. of Alabama Huntsville (5)
7. West Georgia (6)
8. Valdosta State University
9. Tampa
10. Florida Tech 

NCAA Division II South

WOMEN
South
1. Harding
2. Alabama Huntsville (3)
3. West Florida (6)
4. Tampa
5. Florida Southern College (2)
6. Columbus State University (5)
7. Southern Arkansas
8. Nova Southern University (NR)
9. Florida Tech
10. Clayton State (8)

Clayton State women place ninth overall; third among non-Division I schools at Georgia Collegiates  

Macon, GA – October 1, 2005 --- The Clayton State women’s cross country team placed ninth overall and third Saturday among non-NCAA Division I schools out of 24 teams in the Georgia Collegiate Championships in Macon, GA. 

Sophomore Allison Kreutzer was the top finisher for the Lakers, placing fifth in the meet with a time of 18:20 on the 5K course. Kreutzer, nursing a sore ankle, was named All-State with the finish, the second straight season she has received the honor. Her time of 18:20 was the fifth fastest time in school history and now gives her all five of the fastest 5K’s for the program.  Kennesaw State University’s Patrina Hayes won the meet with a time of 17:23.  

As a team, the Lakers finished with 225 points. Four of the five top teams were NCAA Division I squads with Kennesaw leading the way with 38 points. UNC Asheville finished with 125 points, followed by NAIA school Savannah College of Arts & Design with 153 points. Georgia State University and Mercer University rounded out the top five. Berry College, Troy State University and the University of Georgia also finished ahead of the Lakers’ ninth place finish.  

Behind Kreutzer, senior Heather Krehbiel finished 25^th in the race with a time of 19:32, followed by junior Cassandra Bolivar in 55^th with a time of 20:38. Juniors Tanika Smit and Melissa Fernandez rounded out the scoring for Clayton State, finishing 75^th and 85^th out of the more than 200 runners. Smit finished with a time of 21:11 and Fernandez crossed the line at 21:29.  

Both the Clayton State men’s and women’s teams will return to action on Saturday, October 8^th in the Furman Invitational.

Clayton State places 3^rd at flarunners.com Invit.; Valadez finishes fourth for Lakers 

Morrow, GA – September 30, 2005 --- Led by a fourth place finish from junior Bobby Valadez, the Clayton State University men’s cross country team placed third in flrunners.com Invitational Friday in Dade City, FL. 

Valadez finished with an 8K time of 25:53, the fifth fastest time in school history, to lead the club. Florida Southern College’s Tyrone Bell won the meet with a time of 25:04. The Lakers will run on the same Florida course, only a 10K, for the NCAA Division II South Region meet later this fall.  

Florida Southern won the meet with a team low 50 points, followed by NCAA Division I school and former Peach Belt Conference foe North Florida with 72 points. Clayton State finished third with 89 points in front of South Region opponent the University of West Florida in fourth and Florida International University with 92 and 114 points, respectively. PBC foe Columbus State finished sixth with 155 points.  

Behind Valadez, senior Manuel Aguilar placed 14^th with a time of 26:21, the school’s 15^th fastest 8K time, followed by senior Jose Garduno in 18^th with a time of 26:36. Sophomore Josh Myers finished 24^th with a time of 26:51 and sophomore Peter Gajda rounded out the scoring with a 40^th place finish and a time of 28:02.  

Freshman Billy Joe Brown finished in 113^th place with a time of 31:48.32, while freshman Jason Redd placed 116^th with a time of 32:12.  

Clayton State’s Kreutzer named 
Peach Belt Runner of the Week 

Morrow, GA – September 19, 2005 --- Clayton State University All-America Allison Kreutzer won her first race of the season Saturday and was recognized as the Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Week today by the league office.  

Kreutzer, a sophomore from Lilburn, GA, won the Wingate University Invitational for the second straight year. She won Saturday’s 6K race with a time of 22:57, besting Caitlin Heider of Alabama-Huntsville by two seconds. 

Last year’s NCAA Division II national runner-up, Kreutzer opened the season with a fourth place finish in her first race of the season at the Alabama-Huntsville Invitational.  

Her win on Saturday gives her six individual meet titles in her short career. In a total of nine meets the last two seasons, she has six wins, two runner-up finishes and one fourth place finish.  Kreutzer holds both Clayton State’s 5K and 6K records with times of 17:24 and 21:08, respectively.  

Clayton State’s cross country teams will take off this week before returning to action the following week. The men’s team will run on Friday, September 30^th at the NCAA South Pre-Region meet, while the women’s squad will run Saturday, October 1^st in the Georgia Collegiate Championships in Macon, GA.  

##CSU##

Kreutzer defends Wingate Invit. title; both men and women’s teams place fourth

Wingate, NC – September 17, 2005 --- Sophomore Clayton State cross country runner Allison Kreutzer defended her Wingate University Invitational title Saturday, winning the 2005 event by a nose.  

Kreutzer outraced Alabama Huntsville’s Caitlin Heider to the finish line, beating her by two seconds to take the title with a time of 22:57. Overall, both Clayton State teams fared well finishing fourth in the meet.  

Mars Hill won the 13-team men’s meet with 55 points, followed by Alabama-Huntsville with 79 points, St. Andrews Presbyterian with 96 points and Clayton State with 133 points.  

Alabama-Huntsville won the women’s 17-team race with 37 points, followed by Wingate with 107 points, Mars Hill at 113 and Clayton State with 150 points.  

On the men’s side, Clayton State had three runners in the top 13 and were led by junior Bobby Valadez. He finished sixth overall with a time of 35:00. Senior Manuel Aguilar finished 10^th with a time of 35:21, followed by senior Jose Garduno with a time of 35:49.  

Behind Kreutzer on the women’s side, senior Heather Krehbiel had another top-10 finish, placing ninth in the 17-team field. Krehbiel finished with a time of 24:55. Junior Cassandra Bolivar placed 24^th with a time of 26:04, followed by junior Melissa Fernandez with a time of 28:06. Junior Tanika Smit rounded out the scoring for Clayton State with a time of 28:14.  

Behind Garduno, sophomore Josh Myers was Clayton State’s No. 4 runner, placing 40^th with a time of 37:49. Sophomore Jason Redd rounded out the scoring for Clayton State, placing 81^st with a time of 41:46. Sophomore Peter Gajda placed 84^th with a time of 42:04, followed by freshman Billy Brown in 85^th with a time of 42:31. 

  Clayton State will take off next week before returning to action the following week. The men’s team will run at the NCAA South Pre-Region meet in Dade City, FL on Friday, September 30^th, while the women’s team will run at the Georgia Collegiate Championships on Saturday, October 1^st in Macon, GA.  

##LAKERS##

Clayton State men placed third at Mercer meet; women finish sixth at UAH Invite 

Morrow, GA – September 10, 2005 --- The Clayton State University men’s and women’s cross country opened their seasons Saturday at the Mercer Invitational and the Alabama-Huntsville Invitational and both squads brought home impressive finishes in their season openers. 

The men’s team had the top finish, placing third overall at the Mercer meet and first among non-NCAA Division I schools, besting the likes of NCAA South Region foes West Georgia University and Valdosta State University. Former Peach Belt Conference rival Kennesaw State University, now competing at the D-I level, won the meet with 23 points, followed by Georgia Tech with 44 points. Clayton State finished third with 110 points. 

In Huntsville, the Laker women placed sixth in a competitive field of 15 teams. Clayton State finished with 148 points. Host Alabama-Huntsville won with 42 points, followed by the University of West Florida with 69 points and Carson-Newman College rounding out the top three with 122 points. The University of North Alabama finished fourth, followed by Division I Jacksonville State University in fifth, four points ahead of the Lakers. 

Tough course conditions in the men’s 5K race at Mercer’s Atlanta campus produced some slow times with the winner barely breaking 17 minutes in the race. The meet featured 17 teams, including four NCAA Division I schools. 

“All the times were slow, but the course was tight and had a tough hill that you had to climb twice,” said Clayton State assistant coach Hugh Toro. “We ran well, especially for the first meet, we packed it in well at the top. Peter (Gajda) tweaked his ankle midway thru the race and had to take it easy or we would have been closer to (Georgia) Tech.” 

Clayton State had two runners in the top 10 with sophomore Josh Myers (Cochran, GA) and senior Manny Aguilar (Los Angeles, CA) leading the way. Myers placed seventh with a time of 17:15, followed by Aguilar in ninth with a time of 17:22. 

Junior Bobby Valadez (Cathedral City, CA) placed 14^th with a time of 17:37 ahead of junior Jose Garduno (Los Angeles, CA) in 19^th with a time of 17:48. Slowed by a nagging ankle injury, Gajda (Mermaid Mist, Australia) finished 70^th with a time of 19:18, finishing just ahead of freshman Bobby Brown (Locust Grove, GA) in 71^st with a time of 19:28 and sophomore Jason Redd (Jonesboro, GA) in 72^nd with a time of 19:30. 

In Huntsville, sophomore Allison Kreutzer (Lilburn, GA) and senior Heather Krehbiel (Peachtree City, GA) each had top-10 finishes to lead the Lakers. Kreutzer placed fourth with a time of 19:28, followed by Krehbiel in ninth with a time of 20:12. 

Junior Tanika Smit (Benoni, South Africa) finished 43^rd with a time of 21:57, followed by junior Cassandra Bolivar (Glendale, AZ) in 45^th with a time of 21:59. Junior Melissa Fernandez (Mesz, AZ) rounded out the scoring for Clayton State with a time of 22:54. 

Clayton State will return to action on Saturday, September 17^th, traveling to Wingate, NC for the Wingate Cross Country Invitational. 

##CSU##

Clayton State Begins Cross Country 
Season as PBC Favorites 

MORROW – September 8, 2005 -- The Clayton State University cross country teams will open their 11th season this Saturday with much optimism.   

After finishing the past two seasons as the runner-up in the Peach Belt Conference, the men’s team will be gunning for their first title with the departure of defending champ Kennesaw State and third place finisher North Florida from the league.   

Meantime, the women’s team – third place finishers in the PBC for the past three seasons -- will also be in the hunt for a Peach Belt title while returning NCAA runner-up and defending PBC individual champ Allison Kreutzer who looks to build on her freshman success.   

The men’s squad will compete Saturday at the Mercer Invitational on its Atlanta campus course while the Laker women compete in the University of Alabama-Huntsville Invitational at Sharon Johnston Park near Huntsville.  The men’s 5K race at the Mercer-Atlanta campus will begin at 9 a.m. while the women’s 5K race will begin at 9:45 a.m. CDT. 

“We’re heading into this season as a marked bunch,” said Laker head coach Mike Mead.  “Some of our Peach Belt brethren are saying we are the favorites to win the Peach Belt this season, but a lot can happen between now and the time we run the conference meet on October 22.  I look for us to be stronger on both teams this year, but we are thin in numbers.” 

Both Clayton State teams will be focusing more on the NCAA South Region meet in November as the Top 3 men’s teams and the Top 4 women’s teams advance to the NCAA Division II national meet in California.  The Lakers finished sixth in the region meet last season while the lady Lakers finished seventh.  “With Kennesaw State and North Florida moving on to Division I, we have an opportunity if we stay healthy and work hard,” said Mead. 

Men’s Preview

The men's team returns three of its Top 5 from last season’s PBC meet finish, led by senior Manuel Aguilar (Los Angeles, Calif.), an All-PBC finisher in 2004, senior Jose Garduno (Los Angeles, Calif.), who set the team’s 10K mark of 33:00 last season, and sophomore Peter Gajda (Mermaid Mist, Australia).   

"We return a solid core in Manny, Jose and Peter,” said Mead.  “This trio, along with our newcomers should make for a better squad than last year.  But that’s provided we can stay healthy.” 

The Lakers add a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen to make up its seven-man squad for 2005.  Leading the list of newcomers is junior Bobby Valadez (Cathedral City, Calif.), a transfer from East Los Angeles College who was a teammate of Aguilar and Garduno two seasons ago.  Valadez was one of the top junior college runners in California in 2002 on an East Los Angeles team that won California’s state junior college cross country team title. 

Also joining the Lakers is sophomore Josh Myers (Cochran, Ga.) who is a transfer from Middle Georgia College.  Myers was a standout high school runner at Bleckley County High School and has run sub-33:50 for 10K this summer.  The two freshmen are Billy Joe Brown (Locust Grove, Ga.) and Jason Redd (Jonesboro, Ga.). Brown ran last season at Luella High School while Redd ran two years ago at Lovejoy High School. 

“Josh and Bobby are great additions to our program and we spent quite some time recruiting both of these young men,” said Mead.  “We tried getting Josh out of high school, but we’re glad we finally got him in.  Bobby has been idle for a year, but will be a big factor late in the season. Billy and Jason are young but both are going to show big improvement by the end of the season.” 

Women’s Preview 

The Laker women will be thin on numbers after losing five runners including four-time All-PBC runner Kim Daniel. But the squad returns the No. 2 finisher at the Division II national meet in sophomore Kreutzer (Lilburn, Ga.) who will lead the pack in 2005.  Kreutzer had a remarkable freshman season, finishing no worse than second in any cross country meet she ran.  She won the Georgia Collegiate Championships, Furman Invitational and Wingate Invitational, as well as the Peach Belt Championships while setting school records in both the 5K (17:24) and 6K (21:08). 

Also back is senior Heather Krehbiel (Peachtree City, Ga.), the former 5K (18:25) cross country record holder and two-time All-PBC runner.  Krehbiel had an injury-plagued junior year and did not compete the second half of the season.  With her return, Krehbiel and Kreutzer should provide the Lakers with a deadly one-two punch.  Also back from injuries is junior Tanika Smit (Benoni, South Africa) who ran 20:04 for 5K as a freshman. 

The Lakers add three newcomers to the squad, led by juniors Melissa Fernandez (Mesa, Ariz.) and Cassandra Bolivar (Glendale, Ariz.).  Both ran at Scottsdale Community College near Phoenix and last season posted sub-20 minute times for 5K.  Also new is freshman Becky Clark (Stockbridge, Ga.) who ran some cross country while at New Creation Center. 

“We do not have a lot of depth this season, but if we stay healthy we might just have our best team ever,” said Mead.  “Allison and Heather will give us some good front running while Tanika, Melissa and Cassandra should be mid-pack runners.  Becky is going to need some time as she is overcoming injuries.  Again, if we stay healthy the best is yet to come.” 

-- csu --

Clayton State Cross Country
releases 2005 schedule 

MORROW, GA – August 11, 2005 – The Clayton State University men’s and women’s cross country teams, coming off second and third place Peach Belt Conference finishes, respectively in 2004 have released their schedules for the upcoming season.  

The men’s team will open the year at the Mercer Invitational on Saturday, September 10th, while the women’s squad will open its season at the Alabama-Huntsville Cross Country Invitational in Huntsville, AL.  

Both teams will run at the Wingate Invitational on Saturday, September 17th with the men’s team defending its team title from last year’s meet. Sophomore Allison Kreutzer brought home the individual women’s title at the meet.  

After Wingate, Clayton State will again split squads with the men’s team, going to the Pre-NCAA South Region meet, hosted by Florida Southern College, in Dade City, FL on Friday, September 30th. The Laker women will run the following day at the Georgia Collegiate Championships in Macon, GA, where Kreutzer will defend her individual title in the women’s race.  

Clayton State’s women’s and men’s squads will close out the regular season on Saturday, October 8th for the Furman Invitational in Greenville, S.C. The women’s and men’s teams finished ninth and 10th, respectively in the meet last year that featured mostly NCAA Division I teams.  Kreutzer had the top finish for both teams in the meet, winning the women’s race.  

The 2005 Peach Belt Conference Championships are slated for Saturday, October 22nd in Lumberton, NC, hosted the University of North Carolina Pembroke. Both the men’s and women’s teams will be contenders for the Peach Belt Conference crowns, as the two perennial PBC favorites, Kennesaw State University and the North Florida University have moved up to NCAA Division I.  

Both teams will compete in the NCAA South Regional meet on Saturday, Nov. 5 in Dade City, FL, with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Division II Cross County Championships on Sat., November 19th in Chino, CA. 

Expectations are high for both the men’s and women’s teams in 2005, as both teams return its top runners from last year. The men’s team will return its top two runners in All-Peach Belt Conference runner Manuel Aguilar and 10K record holder Jose Garduno, while the women’s team will return All-America, Peach Belt Conference Runner and Freshman of the Year Kreutzer, along with two-time All-Peach Belt runner Heather Krehbiel.  

Aguilar posted the eighth fastest time, 26:10.0, in school history last year at the Peach Belt Conference meet, while Garduno broke the school record in the 10K with a time of 33:00.0 at the NCAA South Region Championships last year.  

Kreutzer will lead the women’s squad after finishing second last year at the NCAA Division II National Championships. She won four races last year and set the school record in the 5K at the Peach Belt last year with a time of 17:24.0. She also set the school mark in the 6K at the NCAA South Region meet with a time of 21:08.0. Krehbiel returns for her senior year after an injury-plagued season last year. Behind Kreutzer’s four best times, Krehbiel has the fifth fastest time in school history.

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