Cross country rewarded

By Brandon Barber
Sports Editor

Both the men and women’s cross country teams took home highly-contested second place finishes at the Peach Belt Conference championship on Oct. 22 at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton.

Head coach Larry Rodgers was named PBC Coach of the Year for leading the women’s team to their best finish in school history.

Photo courtesy of University Relations Kipp Maritim was named PBC Freshman of the Year.

“Winning Coach of the Year was a surprise because it usually goes to the coach of the first place team,” Rodgers said.

Kipp Maritim was named PBC Freshman of the Year due to his performances over the second half of the season, where he was the top Braves finisher in every race in which he competed. Maritim missed the first three races of the season because of injury.

The Lady Braves, led in the 5k by Katerina Matousova, held off two challengers for the runner-up spot.

Matousova posted a time of 20:10, marking the fifth time she has been the top Lady Brave this season.

Columbus State won the title in the nine-team field with 57 points. The Lady Braves placed four runners in the top 20 and finished with 81 points. Clayton State, 86 points, and Lander, 89 points, followed closely.

Adriana Yanez and Tierra McIntosh were the next two Lady Braves to cross the line, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively. Yanez came in with a time of 20:42, eight seconds ahead of McIntosh.

Melissa Moore, 18th place, and Laura Clark, 30th place, rounded out the top-five for the Lady Braves. Moore and Clark each posted season-best times of 21:09 and 22:02, respectively.

Christina Moore finished in 23:31, good for 43rd place overall.

USC Aiken edged out fifth place over Augusta State by four points. North Georgia, Georgia College & State and Francis Marion took home sixth through ninth.

The men, who competed in the 8k against five other teams, were led by Maritim for the fourth consecutive race. Maritim finished seventh overall with a time of 26:24.

Giovanni Bilotta was right behind Maritim in eighth place with a time of 26:36.

Photo courtesy of University Relations The women’s cross country team had their best PBC finish in school history.

UNCP had all five qualifying runners finish in the top 13, good for a total of 49 points.

Bobby Valadez of Clayton State was the top runner overall and set the pace for the eventual PBC champs, finishing with a time of 24:59. Clayton cruised to an 18-point victory with four runners in the top six spots.

Grant Karshner joined Maritim and Bilotta in the top 10, coming in 10th at 27:20. Jeriah Griswold was on Karshner’s heels, finishing one second later in 11th place. Antoine Stanley rounded out the point qualifiers for the Braves, finishing 13th with a time of 27:29.

Justin Gordon finished 20th in the 41-runner field, coming in at 28:30.

UNCP squeaked by third-place finisher Columbus State by one point, while Georgia College & State, North Georgia and Francis Marion came in fourth through sixth, respectively.

“We knew going into the meet that it would be close for the top three positions. Overall it was a good team effort for both teams,” Rodgers said.

Up next for the men and women’s teams is the NCAA South Regional in Lakeland, Fla., at Florida Southern College on Nov. 5 at 9 a.m.

At the regional, the top three men’s teams and the top four women’s teams will advance to nationalsTuesday, November 15, 2005

Rodgers said he does not think the youthful teams are ready to qualify for nationals, but it is possible.