Jaguar track breaks records and notches top-10 finishes at Rams College Invitational

By Justin Brosemer | Sports writer

Led by the women’s 4x800-meter relay team, Hunter Kimball in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Chris Shelp in the 10,000 meters, the Augusta University men’s and women’s track and field teams participated in the Rams Invitational meet on March 19-20 in Columbia, S.C.

The AU men’s team competed in 14 events and the women’s team in nine across the two-day meet. Both teams recorded several top-10 finishes and had many individuals beat the standard for the respective event to qualify for the Peach Belt Conference Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., later this season.

On the first day, both the men’s and women’s 4x800-meter school records were broken. The women won the race in a time of 10:03.24, while the men finished second, in a time of 8:03.14

The women’s relay team consisted of Mackenzie Taylor, Haley Gilbert, Skylar Ackerman and Jaelen Alexander. The men’s group included Derrian Wright, Josh Depeaza, Kai Brickey and Xavier Allen.

Allen also competed in the men’s high jump, placing sixth with a height of 1.62 meters. He also finished 10th in the 400-meter hurdles on the second day.

In the women’s 5,000-meter race, Miranda Taylor ran 19:10. Her time qualified her for the PBC Championships on April 30- May 1.

The last event of the night was the 10,000-meter race. AU’s Shelp finished first by over a minute, finishing in 31:21. Shelp currently has the fastest time this season in the 10,000 in the PBC.

“The win was nice of course, especially with it being my first collegiate win,” Shelp said. “I couldn’t believe the time. I went into the event hoping to break the 32-minute mark. I had no idea I could finish as fast as I did or that I was capable of that.”

Carlos Rodriguez and Brian Ricks finished third and fourth, respectively with times of 32:36 and 32:39. Kimball and Hans Troyer had pacing duties and ran 33:10.70 and 33:10.71, respectively. All five men qualified for the PBC Championship as well, beating the PBC qualifying standard of 33:42.

The second day saw another school record go down, as it was Mackenzie Taylor who broke the AU 1,500-meter record with a time of 4:46.15, finishing fifth. She also qualified for the PBC Championships and currently has the second fastest time in the conference.

In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Kimball, a senior, won the race in a time of 9:27.34, which leads the PBC. Hans Troyer placed third in the race with a time of 9:41.45. With their times they both qualified for the PBC Championship.

“It was really great to be able to run the steeplechase again for my last season,” Kimball said. “I still need to get comfortable with the barriers in the race, but it was a good start nonetheless.”

Brickey continued to show his poise and ability coming off his recent Peach Belt Track Athlete of the Week award with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meter in a time of 3:59.81.

“The guys ran a lot of PRs today, which was great to see,” Coach Adam Ward said. “It was nice to see the good amount of the men be able to get conference-qualifying times.”

Calvin Richard placed 10th in the pole vault, and the men’s 4x400 relay also finished 10th with a time of 3:37.87.

The women's 4x400 squad comprised of Skylar Ackerman, Jayla Ferris, Priscilla Ajala and Jaelen Alexander finished fourth with a time of 4:21.43. Ajala also placed eighth in both the 100 and 200 meters. Ferris finished seventh in the 400-meter.

“It was great to see first-year runner Mackenzie Taylor break another school record in her event,” Ward said. “Priscilla Ajala has been very impressive 100m and 200m, as well as Miranda Taylor qualifying for conference, sitting at fifth overall in her respective event.”

The Jaguars will head to the Lee Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn., April 9-10 and will compete against some of the best NCAA Division II schools across the country.

“We’re all going to work on strength and foot-speed in this longer break until our next meet,” Ward said. “We got plenty of time to work hard and get better.”

The meet was hosted by Columbia International University.

Note: At the top of the page, Hunter Kimball shows his form in the 10,000 meters; he finished seventh in the Rams College Invitational. (photo by David Troyer, special to the Bell Ringer)

Contact Justin Brosemer at jbrosemer@augusta.edu.