Ajala, Troyer winners in Peach Belt Conference track and field championships
By Katron Hugee | Sports writer
Augusta University’s Priscilla Ajala and Hans Troyer each captured a first place in the Peach Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field championships held April 22-23 in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Ajala took first in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.89 seconds. She also netted a third-place finish in the 200 in 24.96 seconds. She established new AU marks in both events.
Troyer also snagged first place, in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, in 9 minutes and 21.07 seconds. He placed second as well in the 10,000 with a time of 31:23.94.
The top 10 in the men’s 10,000 was littered with Jaguars as, in addition to Troyer, Thomas Rischar finished third at 31:30.84. He was followed by Avery Jaynes, who finished in eighth at 33:09.43, and Carlos Rodriguez, who finished ninth at 33:15.82.
Rischar would also place third in men’s 5,000 with 14:56.21 as his time, and Jaynes would follow in fifth place in 15:05.21.
Kai Brickley also had some good results with a second-place finish in the 800 meters in 1:52.14 as well as another second place finish in the 1,500 in 3:56.66. Patrick Motes finished less than a second behind Brickley with a third-place finish in 3:56.89 in men’s 1,500 and Amir Dayal placed sixth in the 800 at 1:55.89.
In the 400-meter dash, Xavier Allen finished second with a time of 48.70, which represented a new AU standard for the event. Allen also placed fifth in the 400 hurdles at 56.99 seconds.
For the women, other notable placements include Rachel Lovell, who placed second in the high jump at 1.54 meters. Lovell also added a fourth-place finish in the triple jump at 10.61 meters.
Kaitlyn Lancaster placed third in the javelin throw event with a toss of 34.75 meters (another AU record) and finished sixth in shot put at 10.65 meters.
In the women’s 400 dash, Jayla Ferris finished fifth at 58.53 seconds, and that set an AU record.
Hannah Beach placed fifth in the 10,000 in 39:42.21 as well placing sixth in the 5,000 at 18:35.54, followed by Cassie Lagan, who finished eighth with a time of 18:42.80.
The track and field team’s final meet will be on May 14 in Cleveland, Tenn., at the Lee Last Chance Invitational. This will be the final meet to qualify for the NCAA Championships starting May 27.
Contact Katron Hugee at khugee@augusuta.edu.
Hans Troyer splashes over the steeplechase hurdle en route to first place in the Peach Belt track and field championships at Daytona Beach, Fla. At the top of the page, Priscilla Alaya sprints toward victory in the women’s 100-meter dash. (photos by Carlos Rodriguez)
AU’s Hans Troyes (8) celebrates winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in the PBC Championships; he also finished second in the 10,000. (photo by Carlos Rodriguez)
