AU's Ward, Brickey, Motes, Taylor win PBC yearly awards for cross-country
By Chris Rickerson | Sports editor
The Augusta University cross-country teams have won several awards in the Peach Belt Conference, including coach of the year, freshman of the year and runners of the year.
Coach Adam Ward was named PBC Coach of the Year after the Jaguars men’s cross-country team dominated the conference race on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Ward led the Jaguar men’s team to two meet wins on the season, one being the PBC Championship. This was the men’s third straight conference title and their fourth in five years.
The men had two individual runner awards with junior Kai Brickey winning runner of the year and Patrick Motes crowned as the freshman of the year. Last year, Jacob Poston was co-runner of the year.
Brickey finished first at the Eye Opener Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C., and won the PBC Championship race in Fairburn. Brickey finished with a time of 24:05.5, which was the third-fastest 8K ever run at the PBC Championship.
Motes has two top-10 finishes on the season with a seventh-place finish at the Eye Opener Invitational and came in fourth at the PBC Championship.
The men also had seven all-conference selections in Brickey, junior Hans Troyer, senior Chandler Kennedy, Motes, freshmen Avery James and Thomas Rischar, and sophomore Carlos Rodriguez,
On the women’s side, AU junior Mackenzie Taylor won the runner of the year after a dominant win in the PBC Championship. Taylor won the race by over 20 seconds and was awarded her second individual title, winning the crown in back-to-back years.
AU had two runners named to the PBC all-conference team in Taylor and senior Hannah Beach, who is a graduate student. Again, it was the second straight year on the all-league team for Taylor.
The Jaguars will look to continue their success in Spartanburg, S.C., for the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Note: At the top of the page, Adam Ward has coached cross-country at AU for 16 years, building a dominant Peach Belt program. (staff photo)
Contact Chris Rickerson at crickerson@augusta.edu.
