AU men get perfect score at Wingate Stampede; Lagan, Triplett lead Jaguar women

By Kai Brickey | Sports writer

WINGATE, N.C.—The Augusta University Jaguar cross-country teams faced a rollercoaster of emotions on the hilly and cramped course at Wingate on Friday, Oct. 14.

The lady Jags took second place with a total of 37 points just behind North Georgia at 32 points. The men’s team had a perfect score of 15 points, filling up the top sic spots to win the meet. 

Once again, AU withheld their top-eight runners for the men’s division and let their B-Team race. Nasrudin Mohamed led the men in the 8-kilometer run with a time of 26:16.62, which was a 19-second improvement from just a week earlier at Queens, a less challenging course. 

“I had Andrew Cole and Tripp Miller to pull me through the first two miles, and then I pushed up and tried to fight with Erick Sanchez (an unaffiliated runner),” said Mohamed. “I just didn’t wanna take my foot off the gas.”

The hills provided a challenge for the Jaguars with lots of team positioning switching up after the race. Freshman sensation Andrew Cole ran 54 seconds slower than the week prior due to a calf strain that perked up during his warmup. 

Sophomore Matthew Moore had the most unfortunate battle though, as he sprained his ankle 3.7 kilometers into the race, forcing him to step off the course and finish as a DNF. 

“It sucks, I hate it. I know it’s for the best to pull out but dang,” said Moore. 

On the lady’s side, this is their first head-to-head run in with a powerful conference competitor: University of North Georgia. 

Cassie Lagan led the Jags in the 6-kilometer race with a second-place finish in a time of 23:22.9, which is a 54 second improvement in the 6K for the junior. 

Following up in fourth place with a time of 23:33.0 was Riley Triplett, who had a 61-second improvement in the 6K. 

“I was sort of nervous racing them (UNG) because of my past experiences against them in track season.” said Lagan. “It felt good passing that barrier though, and it was big assurance especially with conference in three weeks. I think we’re in a good position to even beat them.”

The University of North Georgia was able to push six runners in front of Augusta’s fifth, which caused a big enough deficit for the Hawks to overtake the Jaguars for the win. 

“I definitely think we’re improving as a team,” said Haley Gilbert. “Judging off this race I feel like there’s room for us to move up. Some of us still haven’t hit our ceilings yet in terms of potential.”

This was a big confidence booster for the women’s team as the Jaguars competed well against a top PBC competitor. The same can be said for the men’s team as the top eight athletes who sat out got to run a workout over the course to become more familiar with the trails for when they return in November for the regional championships. 

Contact Kai Brickey at kbrickey@augusta.edu.