FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 8, 2010

Contact:  Robert Preston, Jr.,
              912.260.4276
              robert.preston@sgc.edu

SGC Freshman Wins Jog for Jake 5K

Minerva Arreguin, a freshman from Avon Park, Fla., picked up the South Georgia College cross country team’s first overall win of the season on Oct. 2 at the annual Jog for Jake 5K in Tifton. Three other SGC runners – Sam Caldwell, Daniel Chavez and Mark McLeod – finished second, third and fourth overall in the men’s race and took the top three spots in the 15-19 age group.

The Jog for Jake begins and ends at Tift County High School and features a relatively fast course. The runners finish on a slight uphill over the last tenth of a mile or so but other than that, the route is flat and a perfect course to aim for a very good time. The three SGC men were thinking they would be battling it out for the top spot overall until Hunter Honeycutt showed up. Honeycutt, an 11th grader at Tift County High, is an elite junior triathlete and one of the best junior cross country runners in the state. With him in the field, the race suddenly became one for second place.

When the race started, Honeycutt and the three SGC runners quickly made their way to the front of the pack. Within a few hundred meters, the order of finish was basically sorted out. Honeycutt was out in front, followed by Caldwell, Chavez and McLeod. A pretty big gap existed between McLeod and the fifth place runner. Within that chase group, there were a few surges that threatened to mix things up. Caldwell put some pressure on Honeycutt but couldn’t close the gap. Over the last half mile, McLeod made a big push to catch his teammate but came up about one second short. Honeycutt won with a 16:36, followed by Caldwell (16:50), Chavez (18:00) and McLeod (18:01).

While the men were battling it out at the front of the race, Arreguin was in complete control among the women. She bolted out in front of the other women and cruised to the win with a 22:07, two minutes or more in front of the second place female. Arreguin finished 15th overall.

# # # # 

About South Georgia College

South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu) was founded in 1906 and is an accredited two-year institution in the University System of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty. With over 20 majors and transfer opportunities, South Georgia College provides the finest education possible to the citizens of its service area.