written by Augusta University student Jaylan Hayes
This week the Augusta University cross country teams will head to Spartanburg, N.C. to compete in the Division II Southeast Regional. Leading the Jaguars will be senior Avery Jaynes.
Jaynes, who was recently named Peach Belt Conference runner of the year for a second straight year. This will be his fourth and final season with the team.
As a Georgia native AU was always in his radar to attend for running.
"They were always near the top of my list. It just happened I fell in love with the program and at the time, coach (Adam) Ward was really great then coach (Jacob) Burgamy stepped in and filled that role perfectly," Jaynes said.
Jaynes believes the team has always been like one big family and it was one of the deciding factors for choosing AU.
"When I was getting recruited here, some of the guys on the team were texting me once in a while, just checking in. So, I just felt like even though I didn't know them personally right away, it felt like there was already a little bit of a connection there," he said.
The top person that Jaynes looked up to when starting college was Hans Troyer. He's been around all four years Jaynes has been with the Jaguars, first as a student and now as the assistant coach.
"He was always that teammate that you can talk to whenever you need help with anything, and he'll just listen and help if he can. He's the same as a coach now," Jaynes added.
Now, he's hoping to leave the same type of inspiration to his younger teammates the way Troyer did for him.
He may have come to this school for his love of running but he didn't always have those feelings towards it. In fact, his first time running one mile he couldn't believe people enjoyed doing it. He only started to enjoy it after his freshman year of high school.
Jaynes once thought that his sport was going to be tennis. He played all through middle school, and it was the first sport he really loved.
"One of my friends that was already in high school was on the cross country team and he convinced me to do it to stay in shape for tennis. Then I fell in love with running and switched sports," he said.
Being an only child Jaynes might have felt like there was something missing when he was younger but not anymore. He believes this has led to a strong connection with his parents.
Jaynes comes from a sports loving family. His dad is a big football and baseball fan, and probably never thought he'd be cheering on running.
"He'll send me articles on the sport to check out. Sometimes he knows more things than I do. He's really gotten into it. And so has my mom. They go to every meet, and it's just been great to have family that really supports you and be there for you when you need it," he said.
While his last season of running is coming to an end, it hasn't really hit him yet that this will be it. Even though he's changed his major three times Jaynes will be graduating in May with a degree in sports management and a minor in communications.
He's hoping whatever internships he takes next semester will help him decide a career path. He's always been more of a figure it out as you go kind of guy, but his dream job would be working with the Atlanta Braves organization.
With all his free time coming up after the season, Jaynes doesn't know what he's going to do as he's never had the time before. His main thing is to finally be able to relax and enjoy other sports.
Jaynes collegiate career in running might come to an end but he's determined to hit some bucket list marathons. The Savannah Bridge, Charleston Bridge, and the Peachtree marathon are some of his top choices.
Jaynes wouldn't change a thing about his life knowing it's where it got him now. He's ending his Augusta University career with no regrets and only excitement to see what he will be able to do next.
The men's and women's cross country teams compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional on Saturday in Spartnaburg, SC at Milliken Arboretum. THe men hope to advance to the the NCAA National Championship for the third straight season. THe DII NCAA National Championships will beheld in Sacramento, California.
Men's Cross Country Schedule
