AU men heading back to cross-country nationals
By Cameron Watson | Sports writer
OAKWOOD–The Augusta men’s cross-country team took second place on Saturday, Nov. 4, in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, securing a spot in the nationals.
The Augusta men totaled 76 points, beating out third-place Catawba by 19 points. The Jaguars had a strong finish with all of the top-five scoring runners in the top 25 of the race.
This will be the sixth trip to the national finals for the Jaguars, dating back to 2013.
The only team that was able to beat the Augusta men was Wingate. It would be a difficult task to beat Wingate because the Bulldogs are currently ranked second in the Division II,according to the USTFCCCA coaches’ poll.
Wingate, AU and Catawba all advanced to the national championship. The Bulldogs took the top seven spots in the race.
The nationals will be held Nov. 18 in Joplin, Mo.
Juniors Avery Jaynes and Brandon Martin led the Jags during the whole race, staying with the Wingate runners as long as they could. They got ninth and 10th, respectfully. Jaynes ran the 10-kilometer race in 29:50.9. Martin’s time was 29:58.6.
“Going into it I was a bit nervous, the competition is pretty strong in our region so we had to be on our A-game for sure,” said Jaynes. “Once the race got going I felt strong and moved into the place I needed to be.”
Not far behind Jaynes and Martin were Jordan Robertson (14th), Thomas Rischar (21st) and Carlos Rodriguez (22nd). All of the top-five Jaguars made the all-regional team.
AU’s Patrick Motes was next (26th) and then Andrew Todd (30th).
The Jaguars’ top seven raced together as pack for most of the race, but there were some divides that gave them more points than they would have wanted.
“The guys knew what job had to be done and went out and did it,” said Jaynes. “We always preach having a close pack so if we can just squeeze the gap a little more I think we can be even better.”
Last year the men got split up at the nationals in Washington, but now looking forward to nationals in Missouri.
“We are definitely looking forward to getting another shot at nationals,” Jaynes said. “Last year was a bit of a learning curve for most of us since that was our first time. This year we really want to go out and show what we can do as a team.”
For Martin and Robertson, this will be their first time at nationals after transferring to Augusta from Emmanuel.
“I’ve always been on the outside looking in on a national bid,” Martin said. “Augusta took me under their wing and now we’re flying.”
All seven runners will be flying in less than two weeks to Missouri where they will be able to display what they have trained for all semester. The women’s team however ended their season in Oakwood.
The Augusta women finished 10th, with many gaining new personal bests. Cassie Lagan was first across the line for AU in the 6K race, in 45th place. Madison Kennedy was next, in 47th, followed by Riley Triplett in 58th.
For many of them it was their last cross-country race ever.
“It’s kinda sad to think that this was my last collegiate XC race,” said Lagan. “I’ve had so many ups and downs during my time as a collegiate runner, but I’m happy to finish off my career with two really good races at both conference and regionals.”
Though this was the end of their season, there is still a lot of positivity and optimism on the team for how they did this year and what they are capable of in the future.
“I think the girls this year have really worked well together and individually,” Lagan said. “We have freshman and sophomore girls running in the same training groups as our juniors and seniors, which is great to see! The southeast region has probably become the most competitive that I have ever witnessed in my four years here, so for our girls to place top 10 shows a lot of potential.”
Wingate won the women’s team title, followed by Catawba in second and Flagler in third.
Contact Cameron Watson at camwatson@augusta.edu.
AU’s Brandon Martin (36) finished 10th overall, took home all-region honors and helped the Jaguars advance to yet another national championship meet—this time in Joplin, Mo. At the top of the page, Avery Jaynes (33) finished first for Augusta in the regional and ninth overall. (photos by Cameron Watson)
Augusta’s Riley Triplett sprints for the finish en route to a 58th-place finish in the regional. (photo by Cameron Watson)
The Jaguars’ Cassie Lagan closed out her career with a 45-place finish in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional at North Georgia. (photo by Cameron Watson)
