AU's Brickey, Taylor named PBC cross-country runners of the week

By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor

Augusta University cross-country runners Kai Brickey and Mackenzie Taylor were named the Peach Belt Conference Runners of the Week for their performance at the Eye Opener Invitational on Friday, Sept. 3. 

Brickey, junior runner for the men’s team, won the 8-kilometer event in Spartanburg, S.C., with a time of 25:27.3. He also led the Jaguars to a team win in the first meet of the 2021 season. 

“I simply executed the race plan that Coach (Adam) Ward gave us the week before,” said Brickey. “It feels nice to win the award.” 

Brickey finished 12 seconds ahead of the second-place runner, who was his teammate junior Hans Troyer.

“My mindset was to work with my teammate Hans and position ourselves so that either one of us would walk away with the victory,” said Brickey. “The real honors go to the freshmen class, Patrick Motes, Grant Crabtree and Andrew Todd for stepping up big time. If this team goes on to win more races, it is because of them, not me.”

Taylor, junior runner for the women’s team, picked up right where she left off in her championship 2020 season and won her fourth PBC Runner of the Week award. 

“It is awesome to win the runner of the week again, but it is even better to start the season off strong, especially with my team,” said Taylor. 

Taylor won the 5K event by over 30 seconds and finished with a time of 18:19.8. She also led the Jaguars to a third-place team finish, best among NCAA Division II teams.

“I am very excited about the potential of the women's team this year,” said Taylor. “All the girls are working very hard and putting in the effort with each practice that we have. I believe that we can be very competitive this season, and I cannot wait to see what we accomplish this season as a team.”

AU will continue their journey at the North Alabama Showcase in Huntsville, Ala., on Friday, Sept. 17. 

Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.