Pacers Prepare for PBC Championship With Pacer Relays

AIKEN, S.C. - The USC Aiken women's cross country team had their final tune-up for the Peach Belt Conference Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday with the inaugural Pacer Relays on the Pacer Path.

The event was the first ever intercollegiate event at Pacer Path, which is USC Aiken's four-mile-long, 15-feet-wide grass and earth multipurpose fitness trail, located on property adjacent to the USCA Convocation Center. The facility is built to NCAA standards and it is the only cross country course at a Peach Belt Conference School.

The Pacers along with Augusta State were the only two schools to compete in what became a two-mile fun run in preparation for the PBC Championships. The event featured 40 participants altogether with 22 unattached runners competing in the Pacer Relays.

"This event was important because it was our last significant action before the PBC Championships," noted USC Aiken head cross country coach Larry Milner. "The Pacer Relays was just a fun way to have a good event for the college and the community. Now, we turn our attention to the PBC Championships, which we are really excited about."

The 2009 Peach Belt Conference Cross Country Championships will be hosted by UNC Pembroke and held Saturday, Oct. 24 at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton, N.C.

The women's race is scheduled to get underway at 8:30 a.m. from Luther Britt Park.

USC Aiken finished fifth in the 2008 PBC Cross Country Championship.