Patriot runners 7th and 10th at PBC Championships

LUMBERTON, NC - The Francis Marion University men's and women's cross country teams placed seventh and 10th at the 2009 PBC Championships Presented by GEICO on a rainy Saturday morning (Oct. 24) at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton, N.C. Columbus State University won the men's team title for the fifth straight year, while the CSU women took their fourth championship in a row.

Senior Hillary Kiprop led the FMU men with a 15th-place finish.  He completed the 8,000-meter course in 27:47.  Freshman Justin Albertson finished 31st in a time of 29:10, while Jerry Roth was 34th (29:23), Ben Miller was 46th (31:13), Justin Trigg was 48th (33:13), and Ian Wallace was 52nd (43:19).

Four runners broke away from the pack of the men's race and were together for the first two  miles, but in the end Columbus State's Meshack Koyiaki maintained the pace the best and won the individual championship in a time of 24:38, the second-fastest 8,000-meter race ever run at a PBC Championship.

Senior Amanda Doyle paced the Patriot women runners with a 37th-place showing.  She toured the 6,000-meter course in 26:05.  Sophomore Samantha Smith was 60th (29:07), Sierra Young was 64th (31:29), Amanda Booker was 68th (32:34), and Holly Todd was 70th (34:02).

CSU's Naomi Tanui won the PBC women's individual championship in a time of 22:26.