Jaguars hosting Peach Belt Conference cross-country championships
Staff report
BEECH ISLAND, S.C.—Championship season is upon us, and that most certainly includes the cross-country teams at Augusta University.
The men and women’s cross-country teams will be competing in the Peach Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, Nov. 5, for a chance to bring home yet another title for the decorated programs.
Excitement has been building over these past months as both teams have had successful seasons. With the men ranked first in the conference and the women in third, there is high anticipation for the show that will be put on this weekend. Even more excitement comes from the fact that the meet will be hosted at the Jaguars’ home course at Redcliffe Plantation Historic Site in Beech Island.
This is definitely an advantage for the AU teams as they will be able to play to the strengths of having consistently practiced on this course all season as well as hosting and winning both the men and women’s races in their season opener, the Jaguar Invitational, on the course back in early September.
Both teams set their pre-season goals back at the beginning of the year when they took their annual team retreat to Boone, N.C. It was then and there they both decided that sweeping the conference championship title was what they wanted.
This would be the men’s fourth in a row and fifth in the last six years, and the women’s awaited chance to rise above that top-three ranking.
AU Coach Jacob Burgamy is looking forward to the conference meet.
“We’re feeling pretty good going into conference,” Burgamy said. “Both the men and women are really fit right now, we just have to show it on Saturday. The men have a strong chance of winning their fourth title in a row, and I think the women really have a chance at winning their first title in program history.”
With Flagler ranked first, followed by North Georgia in second, the women’s race will be one that comes down to the wire for the Jaguars. Every point will count as the team aims for rising above their third place ranking to attain the championship title.
However, with the show Cassie Lagan and Riley Triplett continue to put on as top contributors, and consistently followed closely behind by Caroline Pierce as an integral member of the pack, there are high hopes for the show these ladies plan to put on.
On the men’s side, seniors Kai Brickey and Hans Troyer lead the way. Others to watch include Patrick Motes, Andrew Todd, Thomas Rischar, Avery Jaynes, Carlos Rodriguez, Andrew Cole, Cameron Watson, Tripp Miller and Nasrudin Mohamed. Flagler’s Asad Bashir will be in the running, along with teammates Joel Nesi and Francisco Ramirez. Another runner to watch out for is Georgia College’s Philip Bulatao, as well as Columbus State’s Blake Lewis.
“It’s an awesome opportunity to get to host the championship on our home course in my first season as coach,” Burgamy said. “I think being as familiar as we are with the course and having more fan support than we would at an away meet will definitely give us an advantage over our competition.”
Burgamy replaced veteran coach Adam Ward at the start of the season. Ward now coaches at the University of Maine.
As stated, the meet will be held at Redcliffe Historic Site in Beech Island, S.C. The men’s 8K race will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the women’s 5K race at 10:15. Awards will begin promptly after the completion of the women’s race.
