By Jeremiah Griffin |Sports writerAugusta University’s cross-country teams easily placed first at the Pfeiffer Duals in Misenheimer, N.C., on Aug. 30. Jacob Poston and Micah Weathers finished first in their respective races.Poston finished the 8-kilometer men's race with a time of 26 minutes, 14 seconds, and AU averaged 26:26 among their runners.“I think the first meet went well considering the conditions and toughness of the course,” Poston said. “It was also our first race so everyone is just starting to get their feet wet again.”Poston was satisfied with his first-place finish, citing the low pressure of the exhibition as a reason for the results not being as good as they could have been.“I believe a majority of the team is happy with where they stand,” Poston said. “Some had off days, but it happens to everyone here and there.”Weathers, who finished the women's 5K race in 18:51 and averaged 6:03 a mile, was less satisfied with her performance.“My winning time was 18:51, which isn’t what I had planned for, but it’s a start in the right direction,” Weathers said. “I’m not too unhappy with it and yet I’m not happy with it.”Weathers indicated that the late afternoon start of the race (6:15 p.m.) and the same-day travel time was a contributor to her performance.“It was predictable,” Weathers said. “Humidity high, effort higher, performance not as high.”AU Coach Adam Ward was not very concerned about competition in this exhibition. He was content with a low-stakes meet to let his runners experiment, make mistakes or just get their bearings on the field.“Some of [the runners] said, ‘I was hoping to have run faster,’” Ward said. “I said to them, ‘Well, you will. You just got to think of what the game plan was.'”Winning or losing was not on Ward’s mind. In almost a glorified workout for the team where both Pfeiffer and AU seemed to hold back, the game plan was more about preparation.“Our big thing was trying to see what our spread was,” Ward said. “What’s our distance between our first and fifth?”For the men, the spread was relatively small. For the women, it was smaller than anticipated, but Ward underlined the need for improvements in this area.“It wasn’t bad. A little improvement needs to go on there, but last year it was much bigger,” Ward said.Looking toward the next race, closing the gaps is the biggest issue that coach Ward looks to address with his teams.“On the guys’ side, it’s going to be tough,” said Ward. "For our one through five, we were 27 seconds apart. I know once we open up a little bit more and really let them go from the gun, that’ll grow a little. If we maintain that or even shrink that, we’re going to be a tough team.”Ward also saw room for improvement for Weathers and her teammates.“On the women’s side, if we can shrink the gaps so they’re not 10 or, worst case, 15 seconds between numbers two through five, the women are going to have a great chance at conference championships.”Concerning the next race, Ward’s goal is for the runners to learn the course in preparation for regionals.“It’s another opportunity to grow, to learn, and to move forward,” said Ward. “Our ultimate goal is always to focus on postseason and beyond.”For Poston, the day was fruitful.“This race was a great start to the season and will set us up well heading into the rest of the season and into conference and the races to come shortly after,” Poston said.For Weathers, the day was motivating.“I’m not content and I’m ready for my next shot at improvement,” Weathers said.For Ward, the day was a learning experience.“I call it a successful day,” Ward said. “We take this, and we learn from it.”The next event for both teams will be the Bulldog Stampede in Wingate, N.C.. on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Contact Jeremiah Griffin at JEGRIFFIN@augusta.edu.