Brickey, Kimball, Taylor all win as Augusta kicks off track season at Rouse Invitational
By Justin Brosemer | Sports writer
Kai Brickey got a double, and Hunter Kimball and Mackenzie Taylor took the men’s and women’s 5,000 meters, as the Augusta University track and field teams began the spring season at the Susan Rouse Invitational hosted by Southern Wesleyan University in Central, S.C.
The women were represented in 10 different events while the men were represented in 13.
“For the first meet of the year, some of the bright spots I saw we’re that we competed well and saw some big PRs for such an early season meet,” said AU Coach Adam Ward. “First meets are hit or miss with how well we do, results-wise, out of the gate. The instincts and technique are not always as sharp with a long layoff from competition.”
The men’s team had a handful of top-10 finishes across different events. Brickey, a junior, won both the 800- and 1,500-meter races with times of 1:56.83 and 4:01.29, respectively.
“It felt like a relief to win both,” Brickey said. “I didn’t run any fast times like I wanted to, so the bare minimum I settled for was going for the win.”
For his two victories, Brickey was named Peach Belt Track Athlete of the Week. The junior from Suwanee beat 65 other runners in the 800, with the seventh-fastest time in NCAA Division II this season. He then beat 55 runners to win the 1,500, with the eighth-fastest time in the nation.
Kimball, a senior, also picked up a win in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 14:50. Seniors Brennan Silliman and Jacob Poston finished fourth and fifth, respectively, also going sub-15 minutes with times of 14:55 and 14:58.
In the same race, AU had three other top-10 finishes with Hans Troyer, Chandler Kennedy and Chris Shelp finishing seventh, eighth and ninth.
Derrian Wright recorded a 49.97 in the 400-meter race to finish third. In the pole vault, Calvin Richard finished in fifth at 3.80 meters.
The women’s team earned a couple of top-10 finishes as well. In the 5,000-meter Taylor, a sophomore and undefeated cross-country champion, won in 17:37. Her teammate Cassie Lagan, a freshman, finished in second in 18:43.
Sophomore Jaelen Alexander finished fifth in the 800-meters race in 2:26. Jayla Ferris finished in ninth in the 400 while Priscilla Ajala finished in 10th in both the 100 and 200.
“The first meet takes a lot out of you mentally and physically. Once we have had a few days we need to get back to the task of learning from our mistakes and competing more effectively,” Coach Ward stated post meet. “That does not mean we didn’t compete well or give our best. We competed hard, but as hard as we could for where we are in our training. It is still early. But now we just need to learn to compete with better tactics or technique, and so on.”
The Jaguars are set to compete again on March 19-20 at the CIU Rams Invitational in Columbia, S.C.
“I’ll continue to work equally as hard mentally, not just physically,” Brickey said. “I can’t rely on having a fast heat carry me through fast times, so I have to manifest confidence within myself to run national level performances on my own.”
Note: Photo at the top shows Kai Brickey (3) en route to his victory in the 1,500 in the Susan Rouse Invitational. (photo by David Troyer, special to the Bell Ringer)
Contact Justin Brosemer at jbrosemer@augusta.edu.
