MORROW, Ga. – November 5, 2009 – With two weeks to get rested and prepared, the Clayton State Laker men’s and women’s cross country teams have its sights set on Wingate, this weekend at the 2009 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships.

The women’s 6K race will begin at 9:30 a.m., while the men will run a 10K at 10:15 a.m. Admission to the races is free. The top three teams in each regional will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 21 in Evansville, Ind.

The Laker men are competing in the NCAA Regionals for the third straight season and the ninth in the last 10 years. Last season, Clayton State just missed a berth in the NCAA Championships by finishing third overall with 107 points, 20 points from qualifying.

Head coach Mike Mead’s Clayton State men are coming off a strong second-place finish at the 2009 Peach Belt Conference Championships. The Lakers placed three runners on All-Conference as junior Fidelis Mutiso placed fourth, freshman Stephen Bowers finished seventh and junior Joey Chino finished 10th. The key, according to Mead, will be strong finishes by the Lakers’ No. 4 and No. 5 runners.

Mead expects a tough battle for second and third between Clayton State, Columbus State, Lees-McRae and Mars Hill. Nationally-ranked Queens is the odds-on favorite in the Regional.

"Our guys have trained hard the past month and hopefully the hard work will pay off Saturday," said Mead. "The key will come down to our No. 4 and No. 5 runners in how they place in the field. Our Top 5 have to be in the Top 30 to finish among the top three."

For the Clayton State women, it is its first regional appearance as a team since the 2006 season, when Clayton State placed eighth overall. The Lakers are coming off a strong fourth-place finish at the Peach Belt Conference Championships and just missed placing second by five points.

Junior Chelsea Ellis and sophomore Kourtney Aylor both earned All-PBC honors with third and fifth-place finishes, respectively. Clayton State is ranked ninth overall in the latest Southeast Regional poll, and Mead would not be surprised to see a high finish by the Lakers again this weekend.

"These ladies have shown marked improvement in the last three weeks of training," Mead said. "We have come a long way since the start of the season and I look for continued improvement this weekend. Only Chelsea and Kourtney have region meet experience, but this bunch showed me something at conference two weeks ago."