Augusta’s Nasrudin Mohamed and Gabrielle Jourdain have been named PBC Runners of the Year ahead of the 2026 PBC Cross Country Championship. The runners of the year are nominated and voted for by the league’s coaches and based on an individual’s overall performances throughout the 2026 season. USCA's Andrew Towner and Augusta's Gabrielle Jourdain have been named Elite 18 award winners.
 
The 2026 PBC Championships will be held this Saturday morning at the Georgia Premier Cross Country Course in Macon, Georgia hosted by Middle Georgia State University. The men's 8k begins at 9:00am followed by the women's 5k at 10:15am. Meet information can be found here.
 
An early season injury limited Mohamed to just two appearances so far this season. However, the Grovetown, Ga. senior bounced right back to lead all Peach Belt runners in the 8K this year, running a 24:32.2 at the UAH Chargers Invitational on October 24th. At UAH, he beat all other PBC athletes in the field and ran the fastest time in the PBC so far this year. Mohamed earned PBC Runner of the Week once this year. The two-time PBC All Conference finisher enters the PBC Championships looking to improve on his 6^th place finish at last year’s championship.
 
A junior from Sandy, Run, S.C., Jourdain ran in two events this fall. Her two appearances have solidified her as one of the conference’s best as she completed each race with the fastest time in the Peach Belt this season. Jourdain finished 3rd overall and as the top non-unattached runner at Royals Challenge on Oct 9th, running 17:20 for 5k. She also finished 7th overall at the UAH Chargers Invitational on Oct 24th, running 21:03 for 6k. Jourdain received PBC Runner of the Week honors twice this season. 

USCA's Andrew Towner and Augusta's Gabrielle Jourdain have been named Elite 18 award winners. The PBC Elite 18 Award is presented at each of the PBC's 18 championships to the student-athlete competing with the highest cumulative GPA. Both Towner and Jourdain entered the 2026 season with a 4.0 GPA. Towner is the first Pacer in program history to claim the award, while Jourdain is the first Jaguar since 2019 and just the second in program history to claim the honor. 
 
The Peach Belt Conference has also announced the cross country All-Sportsmanship Teams. Each men’s and women’s team were asked to provide one individual who best embodies the PBC core value of sportsmanship and fair play, and we are proud to recognize the following athletes for their outstanding contributions this season. 
 
PBC Men’s Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Team
Augusta: Eli Corn
Clayton State: Dion Dial
Columbus State: James Harrelson
Flagler: Ben Youngs
GCSU: Daniel Laird
Georgia Southwestern: Trey Reid
Lander: Noah Chevalier
USCA: Daniel Kiprono
USC Beaufort: Zachery Vowles
 
PBC Women’s Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Team
Augusta: Danielle Thayer
Clayton State: Juana Gonzales-Cervantes
Columbus State: Reese Moss
Flagler: Rhiannon Hill
GCSU: Haven Bejnerowicz
Georgia Southwestern: Sonja Bernacki
Lander: Madeline Beal
Middle Georgia: Agustina Olivero
North Georgia: Harleigh Smith
USCA: Kendall Reynolds
USC Beaufort: Avrie Farrington

PBC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year: Nasrudin Mohamed, Augusta
PBC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year: Gabrielle Jourdain, Augusta
PBC Men’s Cross Country Elite 18 Award: Andrew Towner, USCA
PBC Women’s Cross Country Elite 18 Award: Gabrielle Jourdain, Augusta