Azusa Pacific’s fourth-year director of cross country, Grey is only the second coach in NAIA history to have 2 NAIA champions in the same year and the first to return both of them for another season.
Last fall, then-juniors Jaime Canterbury and Aron Rono won the NAIA cross country women’s and men’s individual titles, respectively, at the national championship meet in Kenosha, Wis. The windfall of success was somewhat overwhelming for a program that never before had secured one individual titlist, let alone 2, and then had its name linked with Adams State College (Colo.), the longtime standard bearer of NAIA cross country and until last year the only program ever to sweep the NAIA individual titles in the same season.
Yet, Grey and the Cougars now find themselves in a place where not even Adams State ever went – with a pair of returning national champions still in the fold. While the expectations are certainly high heading into the 2008 season, so too is the influence that Canterbury and Rono wield.
“Having 2 runners of Jaime’s and Aron’s stature and maturity is pretty powerful internally,” said Grey. “They’re outstanding leaders, and their influence on the rest of their teammates could translate into something pretty special for both teams this year.”
Particularly for the Cougar women, who not only return the NAIA’s best in Canterbury, but the second-best as well in sophomore Jacky Kipwambok, perhaps best explaining why the Cougars opened the year ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, the highest ranking in program history. Kipwambok, a Kenyan native who won the Golden State Athletic Conference and NAIA regional titles, trailed only Canterbury at the NAIA meet, and that by just 4 seconds as both broke the school 5K record, Canterbury going 17:10 (a 33-second PR for her) and Kipwambok following with a 17:14.
“Jaime is capable of running sub 17s this year,” said Grey, “and Jacky is the most talented runner we have. She has unusual speed and great endurance. She just needs more experience running in larger meets.”
While no one can argue against Azusa Pacific having the top 2 runners in the NAIA, Grey wants to make a case for the Cougars having the NAIA’s best 3 in 2008. Highlighting the list of 5 newcomers is senior Renee Graham, a New Zealander who transfers from Lamar University in Texas. Graham competed in 3 straight NCAA Division I championship meets, posting a 6K best of 21:45 at the 2007 meet in Terre Haute, Ind.
“Renee is every bit as good as Jaime and Jacky,” said Grey. “She is a good tactician and is a strong runner. All 3 of them will contend for the individual national title.”
As Azusa Pacific knows so well, having the top 2 runners, or perhaps even the top 3 as may be the case this year, does not automatically translate into a team title after the Cougars finished sixth at last year’s NAIAs, not even their best team showing in program history. Azusa Pacific must have greater depth to push 5-time defending NAIA champ Simon Fraser University (NAIA), and the addition of Graham will certainly help, but the any national title aspirations that the Cougars may foster will turn on their No. 4 and 5 runners. And that’s where Grey’s confidence begins to emerge.
“We have 9 girls who could run in our top 5,” said Grey. “This is the most talented and deepest team we have ever had, and this unit could win nationals. We’re not the favorites by any means, but if we have the right mindset, I think we can do it.”
Senior Becca Reyes, an All-GSAC performer who was the Cougars’ No. 3 runner in 3 of their 6 meets and clocked a personal 5K best of 18:28 at the NAIA regionals last year, is coming off a strong track & field season in which she garnered All-America recognition in the indoor 800 while posting career-bests of 2:15.30 in the 800 meters and 4:39.57 in the 1500.
“Becca can run with anybody’s No. 4 in the NAIA,” said Grey. “In fact, she is probably the strongest No. 4 we’ve had in our program history.”
Senior Jenny Landis, sophomore Victoria Martinez and freshman Lauren Jimison are the early candidates to vie for the No. 5 spot on the team, but sophomores Stephanie Godfrey and Kayla Carstensen have the potential and speed to move into a scoring position as well.
Freshmen Melissa Granados and Stacy Yarbrough round out the Cougars’ 12-athlete roster.
“Right now, I think we’re as good as Simon Fraser’s national championship team of last year,” said Grey, “but nationally the NAIA is much more competitive this year. Simon Fraser is the class and Cedarville, Wayland Baptist and Malone should be stronger. The margin of error is slim, and no one will be able to make a mistake and win the national championship.”
In men’s cross country, Rono has no peer – in the entire nation. Already an 8-time NAIA track & field champion, Rono last spring became the first collegian on any level to capture the 1500-, 5000-, and 10,000-meters in the same championship meet. He is now hoping to become only the 12th person in NAIA history to capture back-to-back NAIA crowns.
“Aron is as good as any runner in all of college cross country,” said Grey. “He wants to become a world class distance runner and that will begin by again winning big meets this year.”
Rono has won 10 of 12 meets he has run at Azusa Pacific, easily taking the past 2 GSAC and NAIA regional crowns. The only 2 meets he hasn’t won are the 2007 Stanford Invitational (he finished second with a 23:13) and the 2006 NAIAs (third with a 24:35).
Azusa Pacific’s press to finish among the top 4 at the NAIA meet will depend on the strength of the supporting casts. Senior John Pfiel and junior Forrest Lewton are the top returnees after Rono.
Pfeil has steadily emerged over his career as a contributor who is on the verge of a breakout campaign. He recorded a 25.56 on Fresno’s Woodward Park course in last year’s NAIA regional championship meet, and depending on his training and continued development, he could be anything from the Cougars’ No. 2 to No. 4 runners at their 6 meets this year.
Lewton, meanwhile, could prove to be the surprise of the team. He spent his second consecutive summer training with Rono in the high country of Montana. A strong runner with great endurance, Lewton is coming off a fine track & field season in which he qualified for his second consecutive NAIA meet with a personal-best 9:18.69 in the steeplechase.
“The early results of his summer training indicate that Forrest could push for All-American honors this year,” said Grey. “He is getting close to that range. He certainly is a contender for all-conference recognition.”
The Cougars get a boost in the arrival of sophomore Abednigo Magut, a transfer from Simpson College in Redding, Calif. Loaded with raw talent, Magut was NAIA All-American last year after finishing 13th at the national championship meet with an 8K time of 25:07. He’ll need time to improve his early-season conditioning, but Grey has plenty of reason to believe that by season’s end, the Rono-Magut combo will create a powerful impact at the conference and national meets in the final weeks of the season.
“Abednigo can give us the high-quality No. 2 runner that we didn’t have last year,” said Grey. “With Aron as his training partner I expect Abednigo to show some marked improvement and possibly be a sub-25 runner.”
The key to success for Azusa Pacific in 2008 will eventually rest of the Cougars’ No. 5 runner, whoever that may be. The base of the team features a strong opening quartet in Rono, Lewton, Pfeil and Magut, but the difference between an elite team finish and an “also-ran” will be determined by how close the No. 5 can run with his other 4 teammates.
After a 2-year layoff from collegiate running, sophomore J.J. Timphany returns to the Cougars as the most likely candidate to fill the void at No. 5. As a 2005 freshman, Timphany showed some promise with the Cougars, competing in 3 of their 6 events and posting an 8K best of 28:29. Now a little stronger and more mature, he may have the talent to be a difference-maker for Azusa Pacific.
“J.J. is a really hard worker and trainer,” Grey added. “If he can put his work-outs and training into his races then he’ll probably surprise some people.”
Freshman Brandon Dugan out of Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High is coming off a fine prep career and has the talent to break into the Cougars’ scoring 5 depending on how quickly he adapts to the 8K college length of courses.
Freshmen Spencer Winstern gives the Cougars some depth but will likely need a year to adjust to college-level competition, rounds out the Azusa Pacific’s 7-man roster.
“If we get a solid, consistent effort from 5 individuals, we could be a very good team this year,” said Grey, “but if we don’t …”
The GSAC championship appears to be up for grabs this year despite Concordia’s 3-year stranglehold on the conference crown. Azusa Pacific, which narrowly finished second to Concordia last year by 1 point, and Vanguard seem to be in the mix to challenge Concordia.
“By the end of October I expect us to have the best 1-2 runners in the GSAC along with a really good set of runners at 3 and 4,” said Grey, “but this may be one of those years that you have to win the conference in order to get to nationals. There are less at-large berths available. We’ll have to run well early at the Aquinas meet in Michigan to help solidify our national standing.
Azusa Pacific’s 6-meet season opens Saturday (Sept. 13) at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego. Two weeks later the Cougars compete in the prestigious Stanford Invitational before returning to the southland to take part in the Vanguard Invitational in mid-October. The aforementioned Aquinas Invitational in late October will be crucial for both squads validating their national rankings heading into the GSAC and NAIA championship meets, both of which are slated for November.
