AU track and field gets firsts from Ajala, Beach, Troyer and 4x400 men's relay at Victor Ice Breaker Duals
By Katron Hugee | Sports writer
Augusta University’s track and field teams had their first meet of the season at the Victor Ice Breaker Duals on March 5 in Mount Berry.
This came after the cancellation of the first scheduled meet on Feb. 26 at Savannah State University.
The Victor Ice Breaker Duals overall included 11 teams for the men’s events and 14 teams for the women’s events. Alongside AU, Peach Belt Conference opponents North Georgia and Columbus State also participated.
Overall, the AU men’s track and field team finished in sixth place.
In the 5,000-meter final, the AU men took eight of the top-10 finishes, including the first five slots. Hans Troyer placed first with a time of 15:07.70, followed by Avery Jaynes, who placed second in 15:10.32. Troyer and Jaynes were followed by Jaguar teammates Thomas Rischar (third), Patrick Motes (fourth) and Grant Crabtree (fifth).
AU’s top 4x400 relay team finished first with a time of 3:28.19. This squad included Xavier Allen, Daniel Forrester, Tremond Hatten and Imo Sunday.
Allen placed second in the 400-meter dash in 50.36 seconds. Kai Brickley placed second in the 1,500 in 3:57.66 and seventh in the 800 in 2:00.07.
In the 400 hurdles, Terrell Stokes finished third in 1:01.24.
AU Coach Adam Ward was satisfied with the men’s performance.
“The men did really well,” Ward said. “This is a great first step, but there’s things to always work on. It's never a finished product so we’ll work on those things over the next few weeks and get ready for the next one.”
For the women’s team, AU finished tied for seventh.
Some of the notable finishes included Priscilla Ajala, who finished first in the 100 with a time of 12.17.
“Priscilla is a very focused, driven, and determined young woman,” Ward said. “She’s told me numerous times that she wants the school record in the 100-meter, so she’s a woman on a mission and she’s going to be dangerous.”
In the 5,000, AU’s Hannah Beach and Cassie Lagan secured the top-two spots. Beach finished first with a time of 18:36.83, and Lagan finished second in 19:01.94.
Haley Gilbert placed sixth in the 800 at 2:31.42 and fifth in the 1,500 in 5:03.78.
Parmelie Andris placed third in 100 hurdles with a time of 15.95, and Rachel Lovell placed secnd in High jump at 1.57 meters.
Ward talked about the keys moving forward for the track and field teams.
“If we focus on ourselves and we’re faithful to the process, the results will take care of themselves,” he said.
Track’s next meet is scheduled for March 18 at the Trojan Opener in Anderson, S.C.
Contact Katron Hugee at klugee@augusta.edu.
Priscilla Ajala sprints to the finish line en route to victory in the 100-meter dash at the Victor Ice Breakers. (photo by Tremond Hatten, special to the Bell Ringer) At the top of the page, Kai Brickey heads the pack in the 1,500; he would finish second. (photo by Carlos Rodriguez)
