Reeves, who doubles as a biology teacher at South Hills High School in Covina, Calif., sited a desire to lighten his load and spend more time with his family as the primary reason to take a break this time.
“From the fall to the spring, nearly every Saturday is taken by meets or training sessions,” said Reeves, “and while I love coaching and working with college students, I want to have more time with my family.”
Preston Grey, who served as Reeves’ assistant this year, will take over the direction of the Cougar distance runners.
Under Reeves’ leadership, Azusa Pacific cross country has risen to new levels of achievement. In fact, the Cougar women’s cross country program finished in the top 6 of the NAIA each of Reeves’ 5 years at the helm while the Cougar men posted top 10 showings the past 3 years in a row. Additionally, Reeves guided the Cougar women to 4 straight Golden State Athletic Conference championships while the men have collected the past 3 GSAC titles. He is the only coach in GSAC history to lead a school to 3 straight sweeps of the men’s and women’s conference crowns.
In track & field, Reeves has coached 24 All-Americans which includes 8 NAIA individual event championships. Among his top athletes is current senior Brianna Carstensen, a 16-time All-American who owns the school records in the 1000, 1500, steeplechase and 5000.
A 1984 graduate of Azusa Pacific, Reeves coached 9 years at South Hills High before joining the Cougar track & field and cross country programs in 2000. He guided the Huskies to a sweep of the boy’s and girl’s CIF crowns in 1999. Reeves also coached 5 years at Glendora High, leading the Tartan boys team to its first-ever Baseline League cross country championship.
Grey is a former NAIA All-American who ran track & field and cross country at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is currently working on his master’s degree at Azusa Pacific.
“Preston did a terrific job for us in both track and cross country,” said Azusa Pacific men’s track & field head coach Kevin Reid. “He proved to be quite able in all his tasks and was a great addition to our coaching team.”
Grey assumes responsibilities of the distance program June 1.
