FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

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

Three Tigers Earn All Conference Spots at Final Meet

For the South Georgia College Tigers cross country team, the conference championship meet on Saturday, Oct. 28 was a day of mixed emotions. On one hand, the Tigers finished stronger than they ever have, from top to bottom, in the history of the program. On the other hand, though, the day proved very disappointing for the women’s team, which did not receive a team score after only three ladies crossed the finish line. Despite the disappointment, the women’s team saw two runners break the existing school record and earn spots on the All Conference team.

For much of the season, things have gone smoothly for the men. They got off to a slow start (literally and figuratively), but everyone seemed to be peaking at the right time. SGC matched up favorably with the other teams in the conference, and all the runners knew they would be competitive at the final meet. To have a chance, five runners needed to break 30:00 at the 8K distance. Four runners broke 30:00 Saturday, with the fifth Tiger turning in a 30:04. SGC finished third in the conference, just a few points out of second behind Chattahoochee Tech. “We were faster all around as a team this year. Last season, only three men broke 30:00; this year, we were deeper and stronger through and through,” stated head coach Robert Preston Jr. Mark McLeod finished first for SGC (11th overall) with a 28:40, a personal record for him by about 80 seconds. Daniel Chavez was next with a 29:11, followed by Lyndon Jones (29:24), Josh Holcombe (29:31) and Juan Gibbs (30:04). Other finishers included Jevonta Latimer, Archie Lewis and John Adams. “We had eight men in the race; seven of them turned in PRs today. We peaked at the right time, and everyone responded well to the training. Unfortunately, as we have gotten stronger, so has the rest of the conference. Two years ago, this team would have had a chance to win the region. Everyone in our conference is raising the bar, and we are moving in the direction of some of the traditional powerhouses out west. It is fun to watch our region make this transformation,” said Coach Preston. Mark McLeod made Second Team All Conference for his efforts.

If the women’s team from a month ago had toed the line on Saturday, the Lady Tigers would have almost certainly taken second place in the conference and earned a spot at the national meet. Unfortunately, due to one injury and several other unfortunate incidents, only three finishers crossed the line. Two Lady Tigers -- Tia Ponsell (21:34) and Minerva Arreguin (21:40) -- finished in the top 10 (sixth and eighth, respectively), made Second Team All Conference and broke the existing school record of 21:53. The third finisher, Elizabeth Wilder, also ran a PR and improved her times this season by over nine minutes in the process. Sarah Snipes started the race but was unable to finish due to injury. “All four of these girls gave everything they had this year, and they formed the nucleus of a team that would have finished second in the conference and had an outside shot of winning the whole thing outright. I am pleased with the work they did, but at the same time, I'm very disappointed that we didn’t get a team score. This was a year when we could have done something very special,” stated Coach Preston.

The cross country team isn’t finished yet; eight runners will travel to Atlanta in a few weeks for the national half marathon championships on Nov. 19.

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About South Georgia College

South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu) was founded in 1906 and is 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.