CGTC Cross Country Finishes Season on Top in Conference Championship

CGTC 2020 Men's and Women's Cross Teams after the GCAA Championship
Posted: Oct 21, 2020

Milledgeville, Ga. – In just their second season back after a year-long hiatus from competition, the Central Georgia Technical College (CGTC) cross country program earned big finishes in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Conference Championship on Wednesday. 

With six runners finishing in the top-10, the CGTC men's cross country team earned a first place team finish over Georgia Military College and the title of 2020 GCAA Men's Cross Country Champions.

Setting a personal record of 28:08.47, freshman Luis Alvarado led the Titans with his fifth straight win this season. With the victory, Alvarado was named the 2020 GCAA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Year and earned a spot on the 2020 GCAA Men's Cross Country All-Region team.

Finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively, Josh Flores (30:32.97) and Andrew Bos (30:49.94) were also named to the 2020 GCAA Men's Cross Country All-Region team.

Rounding out the Titans' top-10 finishers in the men's 8k were: Chrystian Trauth (30:53.67) in sixth place, Tretavious Jones (31:21.44) in seventh place, and Zak Brown (31:45.28) in tenth place.

To culminate the men's season, Coach Craig Lawson was recognized as the 2020 GCAA Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in his second year leading the program.

In the women's 5k, freshman Anna Ashe (21:29.43) earned her third win of the season. Ashe's first place finish earned her the title of 2020 GCAA Women's Cross Country Runner of the Year and a spot on the 2020 GCAA Women's Cross Country All-Region team.

Gabrielle Heaton finished tenth in the women's 5k with a time of 27:56.47. 

"It has been a really tough year logistically for every program in the country trying to operate under the uncertainty of COVID-19, and we're grateful to have had the opportunity to compete this fall," said Coach Craig Lawson. "We were fortunate enough to be able to navigate this thing and make school history with the first-ever cross country team title at Central Georgia Tech. We want to make this program into something that middle Georgia can be proud of."

With the regular season now behind them, Coach Lawson and the Titans have their sights on the national competition. The 2020-21 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships are scheduled to take place November 14, 2020 at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, IA.