Jaynes completes PBC career with another league title
By Anna Biondolillo | Sports writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Distance runner Avery Jaynes completed his Peach Belt Conference career with victory in the 5,000 meters at the PBC Indoor Championships at the Alachua County Events Center at Celebration Pointe on Monday, Feb. 23.
Jaynes won the 5K in 14 minutes and 31.77 seconds. He nearly made it a double, as the graduate student came in second in the 3,000 meters in 8:13.39.
In the 5K, Jaynes stayed on the leader's coattails for much of the race until there was a little over a quarter of a mile left. That’s when he put on a push for the finish line. Teammates Nasrudin Mohamed and Andrew Helfers finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 5K.
Jaynes had already produced a sensational career in cross-country and outdoor track. He was Peach Belt cross-country runner of the year in 2024 and became AU’s first all-America in outdoor track last spring in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division II nationals in Pueblo, Colo.
Jaynes helped lead the AU men to second place in the conference championships in the first season of the program. He got plenty of help from teammate Seth Eye, who finished first in the 800-meter run in 1:50.13.
The Jaguar 4x400 relay team also captured a PBC crown. Gabriel Carson was joined by Charlie Roberts, Roberto Barrera and Dorian Chance on the podium. They ran a 3:16.56. AU was third in the distance medley relay with Eye being joined by Gabriel Best, Noah Shepherd and Devin Barolette.
Chris Hart added more points for Augusta with a second in the 60-meter dash, and Ragiariki Lewis was third in the 60-meter hurdles. Senior Mitchell Jean Baptiste placed third in men’s high jump with a height of 1.94 meters.
After being out for almost all of the outdoor and some of the indoor season due to injury, Hart performed well when it counted the most.
“I struggled a little early in the season and ended up hurting myself, but it’s a full-circle moment to end up here now and place second when it matters,” Hart said.
Freshman Carson finished fifth in the 400 meters, and sophomore Best took fifth in the mile. Best was sixth in the 3,000, with Mohamed in seventh place.
On the women’s side Gabby Jourdain and Madison Thomas also brought home conference championships.
Jourdain captured the 3,000 meters in 10:58.14.
“The 3K went really well for me today,” she said. “I settled in behind the leading group and waited patiently until my coach (Jacob Burgamy) gave me the green light to start kicking.”
With 600 meters to go in the race, Jourdain overtook four places, and then she kicked her way to the finish line first with a time of 10:58.14.
Jourdain then went on to compete in the 5,000 meter and placed third with a time of 17:37.77.
Teammate Thomas, the PBC runner of the year in cross-country last fall, won the 5,000 for the Jaguars.
“I expected it to go out slow and not turn into a race until the last 1K, but the opposite happened, and it ended up being an all-out race,” said Thomas, the senior from Evans High School.
For a majority of the race, Thomas stayed just behind the leader of the pack, and she waited until Burgamy gave her the go-ahead to make her move with 350 meters to go. Within half a lap, the gap between Thomas and the second-place finisher was noticeable. Thomas closed off her last indoor season as a senior with a 17:26.08 in the 5K and then a 10:59.88 in the 3K.
“I definitely didn’t expect to PR today in the 5K as I had already run the 3K,” Thomas said. “It was a great way to end my first and last indoor season to take the win.”
Ava Adams took third in the women’s 200 with a time of 25.57 seconds. The women’s distance medley relay team ran a time of 13:.01.47, good for third place. Team members were Brie Andrews, Grace Gyetko, Josabeth Granciano and Caleigh Munro.
Embry-Riddle won both team championships. The Flagler women placed second.
Contact Anna Biondolillo at ABIONDOLILLO@augusta.edu.
AU’s Madison Thomas (16) won the women’s 5,000-meter run at the Peach Belt Conference Indoors in Gainesville, Fla. (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer) At the top of the page, Avery Jaynes finished his PBC career with yet another championship—this time in the 5K—to help lead the Jaguars to a second-place finish. (photo by Anna Biondolillo/the Bell Ringer)
AU’s Chris Hart (38) competes in the 60-meter dash at the Peach Belt Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Alachua County Events Center at Celebration Pointe in Gainesville, Fla. (photo by Anna Biondilillo/the Bell Ringer)
