AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State junior Jaiden Brandt individually represented the Jaguars as the lone ASU runner competing in the NCAA Championships Saturday, Nov. 17 in Joplin, Mo.
Brandt, the first-ever championship qualifier for the men's cross country team, finished 83rd overall in the 10K event, hosted at Missouri Southern State, at 31:08.0. He crossed the line ahead of 162 other qualifiers. From North Augusta, S.C., Brandt earned his bid after leading the team with a fourth-place overall finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 3. Brandt finished in 31:57.7, improving his 2011 39th place finish.
This season, he finished in the top-10 for the team in four of the six races this year. He also earned Peach Belt Conference All-Academic and All-Conference awards this season, after his second-place finish at the Jaguar Invitational on Friday, Oct. 5, and his fourth-place finish at the PBC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 20.
Senior Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage won the overall event, crossing the line in 28:56.6, and senior Alicia Nelson from Adams State took the women's title in 20:03.3. The top-40 finishers made the All-American list.