By Jeremiah Griffin |Sports writerNew recruits and steady training will be the key to Augusta University’s men and women’s cross country teams this season, and the coach of both teams, Adam Ward, was particularly satisfied with the new members of both teams.“On both sides, we brought in some new recruits," Ward said. "We brought in a couple of young ladies that are going to help us out. On the men’s side, we brought in a lot of good transfers and good recruits.”Among these new transfers for the men’s team are Jacob Burgamy and Chase Kennedy. Coming from Division I schools, Campbell University and Kennesaw State University, respectively, they are expected to give a boost to an already strong team.Among those returning for the men are Hunter Kimball and Jacob Poston, who helped lead the team to the nationals (third time in school history) in Pittsburgh last December. Kimball, a junior, finished third in the PBC meet and seventh in the regional before finishing in 55th in the nationals on Dec. 1. Poston finished fourth in the PBC and 19th in the regional.Ward has also seen improvements in the quality of both teams.“The time trial was pretty impressive from where those guys were a year ago to now," Ward said. "Our second fastest guy last year ran a 9:41. We now have seven guys faster than that this year."Coming off a somewhat disappointing season for the women’s team, according to Ward, they have been steadily improving over the summer, training for the upcoming season.“They’re a little more focused, and things look much better. We didn’t lose anybody, and we brought in good pieces,” Ward said.The leading returning women's runner is junior Micah Weathers, who had a strong outdoor track season in the spring. Weathers was all-conference in cross country last fall, finishing fifth in the PBC championships at Redcliffe Plantation in Beech Island, S.C. Also back is senior McKenzie Knudsen, who was all-conference and all-regional as a junior.The goal for the women this year is finishing in the top two in the conference and top three in regionals with the optimal goal of reaching nationals.“It’s a very good squad,” proclaimed Ward, “[Both teams] are hungry and ambitious. And I’m excited to see what they can accomplish.”With the men’s team ranked No. 1 in the preseason Peach Belt Conference coaches’ poll, Ward maintained that the team is keeping focused.“As we have discussed as a team,” Ward stated, “we know rankings and polls, especially pre-season polls don’t mean much unless we have put in the work necessary to be ranked as the favorites.”In the regional poll, the men’s team is ranked third while the women’s team is ranked 10th (four in the PBC).“It’s a nice honor and good publicity to be sure," Ward said. "As for the women, I think a lot of folks will be surprised by how good they will be by season’s end."The first event for both teams will be the Pfeiffer Duels exhibition in Misenheimer, N.C., on Friday, Aug. 30.