AU's Brickey competes in nationals; Grand Valley State wins Division II men's title
By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor
Augusta University junior Kai Brickey finished 154th in the NCAA Division II men’s cross-country championships on Nov. 20 in Saint Leo, Fla., at The Abbey Course.
Brickey, who finished with a time of 33 minutes and 11 seconds, was 154th out of the 262 men in the 10-kilometer event.
“The experience at nationals was pretty unique, having to travel alone without a team,” said Brickey. “It was definitely bittersweet. I gave it everything I had and came up short. Days like today only make me love the sport even more though.”
As a sophomore in 2019, Brickey finished with a time of 31:49.7, a couple of minutes better than his finish this season at nationals. The NCAA did not stage regional and national meets last fall.
“If I get another opportunity to go back as a team, I will enjoy every single moment as the next fall season will be my last cross-country season,” said Brickey.
AU junior Mackenzie Taylor qualified to compete for the women's 6K event at nationals but had to withdraw due to a leg injury.
Grand Valley State senior Isaac Harding went on to win the men’s Division II individual title and their school also finished first in the team event. Grand Valley State junior Hannah Becker won the individual title in the women's 6K event. Adams State edged out Grand Valley State, winning the women’s team event.
The results from nationals may were not what Brickey or Taylor wanted, but they and the other Jaguars still had an successful season.
Brickey and Taylor both were named Peach Belt Conference runner of the year and won individual titles for the men and women’s teams at AU. Taylor defended her title from 2020. The Jaguars also had the freshman of the year in Patrick Motes and the coach of the year in Adam Ward.
The Jaguar men’s team also won their third straight PBC title and the women finished third at the conference meet, marking their best finish since 2017.
Ward and the Jaguars will now look to prepare for the upcoming track and field season in the spring.
Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.
