Results

OAKWOOD, Ga.  – The Flagler College men's cross country team finished in second place with 47 points at the Peach Belt Conference Championship held Saturday morning at the University of North Georgia-Gainesville course. The Saints had six runners finish in the top 15.

Marcus Graham led the Saints with a third-place finish with an 8K time of 24:56.2. He earned his second all-conference honor and was one of the three to share PBC Runner of the Year honors. Joel Nesi finished in eighth place with a time of 25:55.9.

"Augusta University is ranked No. 4 in the country for a reason," said head coach Brian Beil. "They are a great team and we knew that we had a tall task in front of us today.

"I am proud of our guys. They raced hard today. More than that, they represented the school with class, worked extremely hard all year, and did a fantastic job in dealing with the challenges that came along with a global pandemic. I look forward to coaching this group, which is the best compliment I can give a team."  

Augusta defended its title as five runners finished in the top seven. The Jaguars finished with 24 points. UNC Pembroke and Columbus State University followed Flagler in third and fourth places.

Joshua Chepkesir of UNC Pembroke broke the PBC Championship record for the fastest time with a mark of 23:41.9. He won his third consecutive PBC title. Jacob Poston of Augusta finished in second place with a time of 24:23.9.  

Connor Norton (26:04.4), Asad Bashir (26:14.4), and Justin Greene (26:17.1) finished in a group, Nos. 11-13. Evan Fuller and Gavyn Fox finished No. 15 and No. 16, respectively. Fuller crossed the finish line at 26:40.3 while Fox followed at 27:06.3.

NOTE: Graham received the Elite 16 Award, presented by EAB, for having the highest grade point average of the participants at the championship. Nesi was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team.

Team results: 1) Augusta 24; 2) Flagler  47; 3) UNC Pembroke 64; 4) Columbus State 118; 5) Clayton State 153; 6) Young Harris 173; 7) Lander 186; 8) Francis Marion 234; 9) USC Aiken 236.

Top 10 finishers: 1) Joshua Chepkesir (UNCP) 23:41.9; 2) Jacob Poston (AUG) 24:23.9; 3) Marcus Graham (FLG) 24:56.2; 4) Brennan Stillman (AUG) 25:06.5; 5) Hunter Kimball (AUG) 25:13.5; 6) Hans Troyer (AUG) 25:19.9; 7) Kai Brickey (AUG) 25:34.2; 8) Joel Nesi (FLG) 25:55.9; 9) Ean Ormsby (UNCP) 25:58.1; 10) Chandler Kennedy (AUG) 26:00.4.

Flagler members: 3) Graham 24:56.2; 8) Nesi 25:55.9; 11) Norton 26:04.4; 12) Bashir 26:14.4; 13) Greene 26:17.1; 15) Fuller 26:40.3; 16) Fox 27:06.3.

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