OAKWOOD, Ga. | Led by senior Evan Rehrauer, the Georgia College & State University men's cross team captured their first team title since 2017 as they won the UNG Cross Country Invitational hosted by the University of North Georgia Friday (Sept. 12) evening.

The Bobcats won the 12-team race with 40 points, outdistancing Covenant College by 23 points. It was the first team title for GCSU since they won the Border Clash and the Winthrop Invitational to start the 2017 campaign.

Rehrauer won the 8K race on the UNG Cross Country Course with a personal best effort of 26:25.1, six seconds faster than his nearest competitor. It is the first individual title for a GCSU runner since Quillian Holland captured the 2021 Bobcat Invitational.

GCSU had seven runners finish in the top 20. Shipley Smith finished in third place at 26:32.5 (personal best), while Karl Ritzler and Noah Boyd finished back-to-back to come in ninth and 10th place. Ritzler had a time of 27:21.2 in his first collegiate 8K, while Boyd compiled a time of 27:22.3. Zach Hilyer, Nolan Lane and Daniel Laird finished in 17th through 19th place, respectively. Hilyer had a time of 27:49.2, while Lane posted a 27:56.4 time and Laird had an effort of 28:03.0.

Jaycob Wagner came in 22nd place at 28:15.9, Noah Peters set a PR time of 28:26.9 and came in 25th. Peyton Harley finished in 33rd with a time of 29:00.1 and was followed by Evan Armstrong (41st, 29:46.8), Reed Glaser (42nd. 29:56.5), Daniel Bell (49th, 30:29.9) and Jack Aurelia (111st, 41:35.3).

The Bobcats return to action in two weeks when they host the Bobcat Invitational at 6 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Bobcat Cross Country Course. The meet will also serve as a preview to the PBC Championship that the Bobcats will host in October.

About GCSU Athletics
Owning the top Academic Success Rate among all public colleges and universities in Division II for four consecutive academic years, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won five consecutive Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup and four-time winners of the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in postseason competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports or subscribe to the GSCU Athletics e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and to interact with GCSU Athletics.