Jaguar cross-country runners Taylor and Brickey headed to nationals in Florida

By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor

Augusta University juniors Mackenzie Taylor and Kai Brickey will compete in the NCAA Cross-Country Championship on Saturday, Nov. 20, at The Abbey Golf Course near Tampa, Fla. 

Both Brickey and Taylor are the only AU and Peach Belt Conference runners to make the nationals this season. 

The Jaguars men cross-country team didn’t automatically qualify for Nationals after Catawba edged out AU by one point in the Southeast Regional on Nov. 6. It was announced Monday evening that the AU men’s cross-country team was not one of the 10 at-large teams to advance to nationals. 

“I am bummed for the guys, especially our seniors in Chandler and Chase (Kennedy),” AU Coach Adam Ward said. “It stinks for them because I know how bad those guys wanted to be able to go back. But we got to look on the bright side. We do have Kai and Mackenzie who qualified, so we’re very excited for them.” 

Brickey, who won PBC runner of the year, will represent AU in his second ever national championship race. As a sophomore, Brickey raced in his first national race in 2019, when the AU men’s team qualified, and he finished 126th with a time of 31:49.7 in the 10-kilometer event. 

The Jaguar runner finished 13th in the regional at Spartanburg, S.C., last Saturday.

“Going back to nationals is a huge relief,” said Brickey. “I got nothing to lose and all to gain, so right now I’m just enjoying the process, loving the competition and taking nothing for granted. After the pandemic, you really never know when your last race is, so I’ve been racing every meet with the mentality that it’ll be my last.” 

Taylor, who was also won PBC runner of the year on the women’s side, will compete in her first national championship race after the NCAA did not have one last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She finished ninth in the regional in Spartanburg.

“My mindset going into nationals is to just do my best,” said Taylor. “I find that when I don’t put expectations or outcomes for myself, I tend to race better and am much more relaxed. I just want to give everything I have and make my school and team proud.” 

The national championship meet is being hosted by St. Leo University. Two years ago, the AU men finished ninth as a team in the national meet, which was won by the Colorado School of Mines. Jacob Poston finished 48th for AU, just missing all-America status.

This season, Queens and Wingate join Catawba as the men’s team representatives from the Southeast Region. Queens, Wingate and Anderson are the three women’s qualifiers from the Southeast.

Note: At the top of the page, Mackenzie Taylor (front of the pack) leads the way for the AU women during the Peach Belt Conference championship. (photo by David Troyer)

 Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.