Women’s cross-country finishes regular season with solid showing in UAH Invitational
Cameron Watson | Sports writer
Huntsville, Ala.—The Augusta University women’s cross-country team finished 17th on Sept. 7, with many women running personal bests against a stacked field of other NCAA Division II schools.
This meet, the University of Alabama Huntsville Charger Invitational, was one of the best races for the Augusta Jaguars for the lack of spread within the runners’ placements. The top three Jaguars were all within eight seconds of each other, which really helped them lead the team well. It is a good way to finish the regular season as the conference meet approaches on Oct. 21 at the University of North Georgia.
The Jaguars raced against 41 teams, many of which are from the Peach Belt Conference and in NCAA Division II. The Jags were led by sophomore Madison Kennedy in 18:59.9 and a 79th-place finish. She was followed shortly by senior Riley Triplett and junior Caroline Pierce at 19:07.0 and 19:07.2, respectively.
Kennedy has been leading the AU women all season.
“I felt good about this race,” she said. “I ran the exact same time as last time we were here.”
Kennedy was only 0.4 seconds off of her time from the last race on the same course, the Southern Showcase on Sept. 15.
“It's the best I've done since my sophomore year in high school,” she said.
Freshman Maria Biondolillo thinks the Jaguars are peaking at the right time.
“The team is definitely hitting that point of the season where our fitness is there,” she said.
The Jaguars continue to improve after each meet. Biondolillo is the leading freshman of the team. She finished with a time of 19:32.6 for Augusta’s fourth finisher.
“I'm excited for conference, we've been working towards this and I'm excited to run really well,” she said in anticipation of her first Peach Belt Conference championship race.
Fifteen women raced Saturday, and five of them gained new personal bests.
“I was consistent and a lot happier with this race today,” freshman Ansley Graddy said. “The team did amazing. We had a lot of girls who had really good races.”
The five ladies who scored a personal best were Graddy, Pierce, Brooke Maseda, Swaye Mohler and Danielle Thayer.
“I feel like the girls have improved a lot, and are seeing the results of the work we have done,” said Kennedy.
Despite the mud, uneven footing and harsh wind, there was much improvement.
“The wind was bad, but the temperature was amazing,” Graddy said.
With many of the runners wore sweats and gloves before the race because of the cold. There was also a decent amount of mud on some parts of the course that slowed some athletes down.
The course was not as fast as it was three weeks before. It was supposed to be steamrolled beforehand, but because of all of the rain that Huntsville got the day before the race, it was too muddy to steamroll. Some of the mud patches dried overnight and because of all the people running over the patches the day before, it led to an uneven course in a few spots where it was not muddy anymore.
The Jaguars also donned on green ribbons in their hair to promote Mental Illness Awareness Week, which encompassed the first week of October.
Now that it is October, there are only a potential three more meets left in the season, but the Jaguars are excited to see how well they will do against their conference competitors like University of North Georgia. The women are coming into the postseason with confidence and high hopes.
“I want the women’s team to get second place at conference,” Kennedy said. “We have a better pack of girls this year; we are just stronger.”
Last year, AU had a third0place finish as a team behind Flagler College and North Georgia. The Jags beat out three other conference teams Saturday. The only team from the conference that was ahead of them at the Charger Invitational was Flagler.
The women did well this past Saturday, giving them real confidence for the next races.
“I know the team will go out and do well,” Graddy said. “Conference is really just a stepping stone to regionals.”
After conference on Oct. 21 in Oakwood, the regionals take place on Nov. 4, also in Oakwood, and the Division II National Championships will be held on Nov. 18 in Joplin, Mo.
Contact Cameron Watson at camwatson@augusta.edu.
AU’s Cassie Lagan (91) shows her form during the UAH Chargers Inviational in Huntsville, Ala. At the top of the page, the Jaguar women start the race with Riley Triplett (99) at the front. (photos by Tommy Triplett, special to the Bell Ringer)
