AU men finish 15th in Division II cross-country nationals
By Cameron Watson | Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s cross-country team placed 15th on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship in Joplin, Mo.
Heading into nationals, the team was ranked 20th in the nation by the NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Poll. The Jags exceeded those expectations with Peach Belt Conference runner of the year Avery Jaynes leading the team to their 15th place finish, the best Augusta has done since a ninth place finish in 2019.
As in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, the runners ran a 10-kilometer race. Jaynes lead with a 30:40.8 for a 56th place finish, followed by Brandon Martin with a 89th place finish at a time of 31:02.4, Jordan Robertson with a time of 31:14.7 for 107th place, Patrick Motes with a 31:29.6 for 129th place, Carlos Rodriguez with a 31:53.7 for 165th place. Not scoring were Thomas Rischar, who ran a 31:59.7, and Andrew Todd, who had a 34:01.7.
“The 15th-place finish is super awesome for the program and a good step in the right direction,” said junior Patrick Motes.
Coach Jacob Burgamy and the team have hopes for their future at other national championships in the coming years. They have started establishing an exciting pattern after making it to nationals last year during Burgamy’s first season at the helm.
“Nationals was great,” urgamy said “I am really proud of the guy’s performances and their commitment to the process this season.”
The Augusta men finished 24th last year, which was not what was hoped for, but it brought with them experience for this year’s race that they had not had previously.
“We had to overcome losing two of our top guys (Hans Troyer and Kai Brickey) from last year and a less-than-what-we-expected performance from last year,” Burgamy said. “I think that changed the guys' thought processes headed into this year’s meet, because they knew we were capable of much more than what we showed last year and that put a bit of a chip on their shoulder.”
It was an exciting race for the Jaguars. Many of the men who did not get to go with the team to Joplin watched the NCAA live stream with great anticipation and an exuberant amount of cheering when they saw their teammates pop up on the screens to do awesome things.
“The race experience was hectic, but extremely energetic,” Motes said. “The Nationals experience was fun, but it was definitely a business trip.”
It was the second-best team finish in school history. The 2019 team finished ninth. AU finished 12 spots higher than it did in last season’s nationals.
Southeast region foe Wingate won the team title, and William Amponsah of West Texas was the individual champion.
Contact Camero Watson at camwatson@augusta.edu.
The AU men took 15th place in the D2 nationals in Joplin, Mo. Front row, from left to right: Andrew Todd and Patrick Motes. Back row, from left to right: Avery Jaynes, Thomas Rischar, Carlos Rodriguez, Jordan Robertson, Brandon Martin, Andrew Cole and AU Coach Jacob Burgamy. (courtesy of AU Athletics) At the top of the page, Avery Jaynes (32) shows his form en route to his 56th-place finish. (photo by Churchill Ezeokonkwo)
AU’s Andrew Todd (39) ran a 34:01.7 for the 10K course in Joplin, Mo., at the NCAA Division II national championships. (photo by Churchill Ezeokonkwo)
