Jaguar men finish second, third at Royals Challenge; Thomas has PBC's best time of the fall season
By Maleigha Johnson | Sports writer
The Augusta University men’s cross-country team finished third on Sept. 10 in the Gold 8-kilometer race at the Royals Challenge, hosted by Queens University at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C.
The Jaguars finished second in the Blue 8K.
In both races, the Jaguars competed against a field of NCAA Division I and II programs.
In the Gold race, junior Nasrudin Mohamed paced Augusta with an 11th-place finish in 24 minutes and 51.29 seconds. For his performance, Mohamed was named Peach Belt Conference runner of the week for the third time.
Junior Andrew Helfers took 19th in 25:04.38, followed by junior Oscar Curry (25:15.89) and freshman Caleb Darsey (25:16.32) in 27th and 28th, respectively.
Junior Eli Corn finished 37th in 25:31.36, while freshman Jackson Musto crossed in 25:40.90. Connor Mumford ran 26:12.47, and freshman DJ Oakes clocked 26:27.14.
In the Blue race, sophomore Seth Eye had an eighth-place finish in 26:9.52 seconds. Freshman Francisco Palacios was next in 11th at 26:15.72, while freshman Benjamin Hall placed 14th in 26:18.60. Freshman Sam Segrist was 21st in 26:47.33, and senior Noah Shepherd rounded out the scoring five in 26:52.91. Additional Jaguars included Shahzeb Rashid (27:31.11), Carter Dehnke (27:36.23), Landon Amos (27:46.78) and Barrett Stepp (29:55.69).
The AU women placed fifth in the Blue 5K and seventh in the Gold 5K races.
In the Gold race, Madison Thomas ran an 18:02.0 and came in 19th place. That was the fastest time in the Peach Belt Conference this season, and Thomas was named PBC runner of the week, also for the third time.
In the Blue race, freshman Caleigh Munro led the Jaguars with a 15th-place finish in 19:54.04.
Coach Jacob Burgamy’s teams now turn their attention to the Peach Belt Championships in Milledgeville Saturday, Oct. 25.
Contact Maleigha Johnson at mjohnson70@augusta.edu.
AU’s Madison Thomas (40) continued her excellent fall campaign with a 18:02 run for 5 kilometers in Charlotte. At the top of the page, the Jaguars’ Nasrudin Mohamed (L) took 11th place in the Royals Challenge cross-country meet. (photos by Anna Biondolillo/the Bell Ringer)
