Jourdain shatters Peach Belt 5K record at Lee Flames Invitational

By Anna Biondolillo | Sports writer 

CLEVELAND, Tenn.—While Augusta University was on spring break, the Jaguar track team saw freshman Gabby Jourdain break the Peach Belt Conference mark in the 5,000 meters at the Lee Flames Fast Break Invitational on April 10.

Jourdain ran the race of a lifetime by blowing the AU and PBC 5K records out of the water with a time of 16 minutes and 55.54 seconds. She finished eighth in the race.

Gabriel Best (28) runs in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing third. (photo by Anna Biondolillo)

“My teammates cheered me on for the whole race, which encouraged me to keep going strong, and made all the difference,” said the Sandy Run, S.C., product.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, junior Gabriel Best finished third in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:03.29. That time qualifies the junior from Peachtree City for the NCAA Division II outdoor national championships. He also was named PBC runner of the week.

AU’s Nasrudin Mohamed finished third in the 10,000 meters in 29:49.33. The senior from Grovetown also met the NCAA D2 provisional standard.

The AU teams aim to keep this momentum moving forward as they race this upcoming weekend, April 17-18 at the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta. Some Jaguar runners will be competing at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend.

This will be the team’s last regular-season performance before they head to the PBC Championships in Daytona, Fla., on May 1-2.

Note: At the top of the page, Gabby Jourdain shows her form in the Peach Belt Conference cross-country championships. (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer)

Contact Anna Biondillillo at ABIONDOLILLO@augusta.edu.