Clayton State Runners Ready for Peach Belt Conference Cross Country Championships
Lakers’ Berkhedle favorite in the PBC men’s race

MORROW, Ga. - October 18, 2007 - The Clayton State Laker men’s and women’s cross country squads are ready for the Peach Belt Conference Championships for this Saturday in Evans, Ga.  Augusta State University is hosting this year’s championship meet.

The Clayton State squads will be making their 13^th appearance in the conference championship meet. For the first time since 2000, the Laker women will not be in contention for one of the Top Three spots in the field, while the Clayton State men will be trying to surprise defending champion Columbus State after the Lakers’ forgettable 2006 sixth-place finish.

The women’s 5K race will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Blanchard Woods Park, located outside of Augusta. The men’s 8K race follows at 9:45 a.m. Besides the team titles, individuals will be competing for All-PBC distinction with the Top 14 in the women’s field and the Top Eight in the men’s field earning the honors. 

A total of 15 Clayton State women have garnered All-PBC honors 24 times while 11 men have garnered all-conference honors 15 times.

"Our women’s team has had its struggles this season, particularly with injuries," said Clayton State head coach Mike Mead. "We have not been at full-strength all season long and we will not be on Saturday, but we’ll make the best of it.”

The Lakers have been without two-time Division II All-American senior Allison Kreutzer, who was the 2004 Peach Belt Runner of the Year and finished second to teammate Angela Cobb last season. Kreutzer suffered an injury just prior to the start of the season that will sideline her for the rest of 2007.

The Laker women finished a close second in the Peach Belt last season to Columbus State and have not finished any worse as a team than third since 2000. However, that string is likely to end Saturday. The Lakers have been led all season by freshman Chelsea Ellis. She will be in contention for All-PBC honors on Saturday.  

Since the program’s inception in 1995, the Clayton State women have produced at least one all-conference runner each year, with the exception of 1998.

“I have no idea where we will finish as a team in this year’s conference meet,” Mead stated. “It’s going to depend how well our walking wounded hold up on this challenging course. Chelsea and Terrica (Hamilton) have been consistent at No. 1 and No. 2, but it’s going to be up to the rest of the squad as to how we’ll make out.”

The Laker men have put last season behind them, mainly because this year’s team is entirely new.  Leading the way will be the pre-race favorite in freshman sensation Walid Berkhedle, who has run more than a minute faster than the next fastest runner in the conference. Berkhedle ran the fourth-fastest time for 8K in Clayton State history two weeks ago in Memphis with a time of 25:32 while earning his fourth straight Peach Belt “Runner of the Week” honor.

“Walid has had a satisfying season to this point, but now we’ve reached the part of the season where performance matters” Mead said.

Berkhedle has been the No. 1 runner for the Lakers this season, while the No. 2 spot has gone to junior college transfer Anthony Aguilar. But with only six runners making up the squad, the Lakers have no room for error or injury. Freshman Joey Chino, for example, was making steady progress as the Lakers’ No. 3 runner until an injury slowed him considerably in Memphis.  Junior Au Nguyen and freshman Jarrid Casimir have been consistent, but will need to step up on Saturday for Clayton State to overtake Columbus State.

“Anything can happen, that’s why we compete,” Mead said. “It’s all about placing this Saturday since the course is challenging and if you get too hung up on time, you’re going to run poorly. We just need to get out comfortably and battle through the tough parts of the course and see how everything plays out.”