Bobcat runners have good finish topping off season

Bethany Loushine, a freshman, and Morgan Stallings, a junior, set new records for Georgia College & State University at the 2001 Peach Belt Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

The Peach Belt Championships were hosted by Clayton College & State University and proved to be a lucky charm for Loushine and Stallings. Loushine broke her own record of 20:31 with a 14th place finish and a time of 20:26 in the 5K run. She has been named to the All-Peach Belt Conference squad and now holds the top five fastest times in school history. Stallings ran the 8K course in 27:38 and finished 23rd overall as he set a new school record for the fastest time in school history.

Led by Peach Belt Conference Runner of the Year Gedminus Banevicius, the Kennesaw State Owls won their seventh overall PBC Cross Country Men’s Championship with 30 points. They placed five runners in the top 15. Banevicius placed first with a time of 24:53.

The GC&SU men had two record breakers in the field. J.R. Black decided to place his name in the record books as well. Running the course in 28:18 and finishing 31st overall, Black set the fifth fastest time in GC&SU history. Will Hill finished 40th with a time of 29:15, followed by Noah Sword, who placed 46th with a time of 31:20. Will Cleghorn closed GC&SU’s top five in 47th place with a time of 32:45. The Bobcats finished seventh out of nine teams with 187 points. The Bobcats were able to grab the seventh position over the weekend’s meet.

Finishing with an impressive 37 points, North Florida’s women put a stop to Kennesaw State’s reign of seven straight championships. North Florida placed three runners in the top 10 finishers to claim their first PBC title. KSU’s Marjo Venalainen, who was named the women’s PBC Runner of the Year, finished first with a time of 17:25.

Loushine’s record-setting time of 20:31 led the lady Bobcats’ runners. Karen Hjemeland matched her own best time of the year, crossing the line in 22:05 and placing 26th. Nickie Black finished 34th with a time of 22:43. Lilia Biktyakova followed closely with a 35th place finish and a time of 22:44. Kristina Tittle rounded out the top five with a 37th place finish in a time of 23:03. The Bobcats finished sixth out of eleven teams with 130 points. The lady Bobcats finished the race in sixth place.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 26 2001. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry