Jaguar cross-country prepping for PBC at North Georgia Invite
AU’s Mackenzie Taylor has won the first two cross-country meets of her college career. (photo by David Troyer, special to the Bell Ringer)
By Justin Brosemer |
Sports writer
Coach Adam Ward and the Augusta University men’s and women’s cross-country teams prepare to finish strong in their last meet of the shortened regular season this Saturday, Oct. 31. Saturday’s competition is the North Georgia Invite in Gainesville, Ga. The men will be running in a 8-kilometer race, with women running in their first 5-kilometer event of the season. Previously, they had run 6K races.
The races will begin with the men’s 8K at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women’s 5K at 10:30 a.m.
To watch the races online, you can visit: https://pbcsportsnetwork.com/northgeorgia/?B=199135.
To view the results as they come in, you can visit: https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-59598.
While not being as big as the previous meets, the programs competing in Saturday’s event are accredited in their own regard among the Peach Belt Conference. Running in this weekend’s race are the following schools: Augusta, Clayton State, Flagler, Piedmont, Young Harris, Georgia Southern (women) and North Georgia (women). Ward spoke about his team’s mindset heading into the event coming off their runner-up performance in the UAB Blazer Classic on Oct. 16.
“We are taking this opportunity to learn the course as a team,” Ward states. “Once we learn the course as a unit, we can begin to solely focus on the competition and winning.”
The men’s team heads into Saturday’s meet ranked fifth in the national Division II coaches’ poll. This ranking can be attributed to two-time PBC Men’s Runner of the Week senior Jacob Poston (third at UAB, in 24:17), senior Chase Kennedy (sixth, 24:32) and senior Hunter Kimball (ninth, 24:36) finishing in the top 10 in the UAB Blazer Classic on Oct. 16. However, the men’s team will be missing these top three men, plus four more in order for them to better prepare for the PBC Championship. While more challenging in the short-term, Ward and the Jags will be playing the long game in order to prepare his runners for the PBC Championship at the same course as tomorrow’s race.
The younger team members will be presented with the opportunity to perform to show glimpses of strengths to lean on once nationals comes back into play for the 2022 season.
The women’s team is arriving at the North Georgia Invite ranked third in the Peach Belt Conference. Although an admittedly a bit disappointing finish in the UAB Blazer Classic, a silver lining of the team finish was the exceptional performance of sophomore Mackenzie Taylor, who came in first in the women’s 6K event with a time of 21:10.
“To us, Mackenzie [Taylor] is the clear-cut runner to win in the conference (individual),” Ward said. “The main focus is just letting her learn the shortened course and it’s loops to prepare for the PBC Championship.”
The women’s team will rest two runners for minor reasons, allowing their depth to shine throughout Saturday’s race. Taylor remains with all eyes on her as she looks to go undefeated on the individual level for the regular season.
“As a team, we talk about the three things we can control: your attitude, your effort and your preparation,” Ward said. “Everything else is a distraction that is out of our control anyways.”
The event will not allow spectators and will require masks for teams and coaches in the meet due to COVID-19 safety requirements. Each member belonging to a team will undergo testing and temperature checks as well. During the event, the teams will be separated into sectioned areas accompanied with seating and bathrooms. Masks will be required for runners until they arrive at the start line.
Both AU teams hope to end their third and final meet in the season strongly as they prepare for the Peach Belt Conference Championship on Nov. 14 when they will find themselves at the same course that they run on tomorrow in Gainesville.
Contact Justin Brosemer at JBROSEMER@augusta.edu.
