AU cross-country opens season with home meet at Redcliffe
By Kai Brickey and Riley Triplett | Sports writers
The Augusta University cross-country teams will be competing in their season opener, the Jaguar Cross Country Invitational, in Beech Island, S.C., on Saturday, Sept. 3.
It also the debut of Coach Jacob Burgamy, who replaces Adam Ward, now the coach at the University of Maine.
On the women’s side, AU goes back to work after being picked to finish third in the Peach Belt Conference and being ranked eighth in the region in the preseason rankings.
After coming off of a successful preseason time trial, Emmanuel College transfer Riley Triplett and foreign exchange student Cassie Lagan have risen as the new pack leaders. These women will carry this success into the weekend to not only secure a strong debuting performance, but to also capitalize on leadership as this is still a developing team.
As a matter of fact, this team is the youngest in the conference as it is composed solely of underclassmen. To give this young team an opportunity for early exposure to the racing season, Burgamy has made the executive decision to race the entirety of the women’s roster, including the new wave of seven debuting freshmen.
“We have a big group of women that can all race together, so I’m looking forward to seeing our women’s team work together as a pack at this first meet,” Burgamy said. “Almost all of the ladies are sophomores or younger, so I think this team will have a very bright future if they continue to be patient and work together.”
The course at Redcliffe Plantation will be five kilometers in length and will be starting after the men’s race at 8:50 a.m. This is the Jaguars’ home course, and the Peach Belt Conference championships will be held there in November.
On the men’s side, Saturday marks the beginning of what is set to be yet another winning season for the AU men’s cross country team. Starting off the season on their home course, the Jaguars will be competing in the AU Jaguar Cross-Country Invitational as they carry the mantle of being ranked first in the Peach Belt Conference and second in the region. There is no doubt their goal remains the same as it has the past three years in a row: win conference yet again.
With the possibility of claiming the four-peat conference champion title this season, Saturday’s opener will be a great gauge on where the men lie in their fitness so early in the season. The decision was made that the top varsity men would not be racing in this meet for the sole purpose of preserving their legs for bigger races this month, while also allowing the younger men a chance to step up and show their competitiveness as well.
Burgamy is expectant and hopeful to see what the younger members of the team are capable of and how they are going to be able to contribute to the overall goal of the team as the season progresses.
“I’m really excited to see our younger guys get their first taste of college cross country on the course that we’ll use to host the conference championship meet in early November,” Burgamy said. “We had a huge recruiting class this off-season so I’m anxious to see how their high school talent translates to the collegiate level. Most of our older guys will be sitting out of the meet to save their energy for bigger meets, so hopefully we’ll get to see one of our younger guys get their first collegiate win.”
Some underclassmen to look out for as they compete this Saturday include Tripp Miller (freshman), Matthew Moore (sophomore), and Heyabel Tekle (sophomore). All three men posted competitive times in the team time trial two weeks prior to this upcoming race. If these men play their cards right on Saturday morning, congratulations will be in order.
The course will be eight kilometers in length for the men, and their race will be starting at 8:10 a.m. Redcliffe Plantation is located at 181 Redcliffe Road in Beech Island.
Contact Kai Brickey at kbrickey@augusta.edu and Riley Triplett at rtriplett@augusta.edu.
