GC’s cross country teams competed in the Peach Belt Conference Championship on Sunday, Oct. 21, at the University of North Georgia Cross Country Course.
The men’s team placed fourth overall in the tournament out of nine teams, and freshman runner Daniel Laird was named the PBC Freshman of the Year.
The Bobcats finished with 115 points — just 12 points out of third place, behind Columbus State University. Augusta University won its fifth consecutive league championship, scoring 22 points.
“I think the team did well as a whole, considering we closed the gap on the third ranked team in the conference,” said Caiden Curtis, a junior runner. “We had some good performances all throughout the team, but I do still think that there is room for improvement with faster times, team placement and race execution.”
According to the Peach Belt Conference, Laird was the top-finishing freshman for the men’s tournament, who was also among his teams’ top seven runners, finishing with a personal-best time of 27:00.7. He was able to shave 22 seconds off his previous best as he finished in 29th place.
Philip Bulatao, who was named to the All-Peach Belt Sportsmanship Team, was the top Bobcat in the field with an 8K time of 26:21.5 to finish in 20th place overall.
Caleb Carter posted a time of 27:31.6 and came in 37th place, while Evan Rehrauer was 41st with a time of 27:36.1. Caiden Curtis finished in 49th place, with a time of 28:16.1, and teammate Peyton Harley was right behind him in 50th with a time of 28:18.3.
William Wright was the other GC runner to set a personal-best time, as he finished in 52nd place with an effort of 28:20.7.
Jack Sisk’s 28:40.1 was good for 54th place, while Jack Rea, who finished with a time of 29:07.8, and Denver Oakes, who finished with a time of 29:13.5, finished in 56th and 57th, respectively.
Brendan Rice finished in 66th place at 30:13.2, while Tucker Balch rounded out the GC runners in 77th with a time of 33:00.7.
The women’s team also placed fourth overall — but out of 10 teams — with Flagler University taking first on their side of the tournament. They were able to finish with a total score of 103 points.
According to the GC Athletics website, nine of the 10 Bobcat runners in the women’s race hit personal-best times at the tournament, which helped the team place the best they have at the PBC Tournament since 2018, when they also placed fourth.
The Bobcats fastest runner in the women’s race was Anna Agi, who placed 16th after she ran a personal best 5K time of 18:42:9, which is 34 seconds better than her previous best.
Calli Crawford and Jillian Muncus placed not far after Agi, with personal best times that helped them take the No. 21 and No. 22 spots.
GC’s Brooke Mooney was named to the league’s All-Sportsmanship team on the women’s side of the tournament.
“Overall, I think it was a good effort by both of the teams,” Curtis said. “We did have some highlights, but we didn’t exactly accomplish what we set out for, so we just need to keep working towards our goal and stay focused so we can achieve what we set out for next weekend.”
The Bobcats are set to return to the UNG Cross Country Course, as they will compete in the 2023 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional on Nov. 4. The men’s 10K race will be held at 11:15 a.m., while the women’s 6K race will be held at 10 a.m.
