Martin, Jaguars win Peach Belt championship; AU women finish third
Staff report
OAKWOOD—Led by Brandon Martin, the Augusta University men took the top three spots at the Peach Belt conference championship and the overall team title on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the University of North Georgia-Gainesville cross-country course.
It was the AU men’s fifth straight PBC crown.
Martin ran a 24:37.5 over the 8-kilometer course, leading the entire race. Teammate Avery Jaynes, the junior from Savannah, finished second in 25:04.4. Jaynes had been named named Peach Belt Conference runner of the year the previous day, and he stayed in second throughout.
Senior Carlos Rodriguez sprinted hard at the end and was third for his best-ever performance in the PBC championship race. Rodriguez, the Grovetown High School product, ran the 8K in 25:14.6.
AU would finish with 22 points, compared to 34 for runner-up Flagler. Columbus State was third with 102 points.
The Jags’ Patrick Motes took seventh place in 25:22.4, and teammate Thomas Rischar was ninth overall in 25.25.8.
Jaguar Coach Jacob Burgamy was named PBC Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Making all-conference for Augusta were Martin, Jaynes, Rodriguez, Motes, Rischar, Jordan Robertson, Matthew Moore and Andrew Todd.
In the women’s race, Flagler took the team title, and the Saints’ Amber Schulz was the individual champion.
AU, led by senior Riley Triplett, was third in the team race. Triplett finished 12th in a time of 18:34.0. Teammate Caroline Pierce followed closely behind in 13th in 18:34.5. Next for the Jaguars was Cassie Lagan in 18:46.8 for 18th place, followed by Maria Biondollilo in 25th in 19:14.6 and Madison Kennedy in 27th in 19:16.8.
North Georgia was second in the women’s race.
Triplett and Pierce both made the all-conference team.
Up next for AU is the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in two weeks on the same course.
Riley Triplett (15) was the first Jaguar woman across the finish line in the Peach Belt Conference Championship on Oct. 21. Jaguar teammate Cassie Lagan (7) is close behind. (photo by Tommy Triplett, special to the Bell Ringer)
Here are the Augusta Jaguars, the Peach Belt Conference cross-country champions for 2023. The Jags, led by Brandon Martin, won the PBC crown for the fifth straight year. Carlos Rodriguez, who finished third, is holding the conference championship trophy and Martin is next to him on the left. (photo by Churchill Ezeokonkwo)
