EAGLE ROCK, Calif. –- They continue their assault on the record book, and their timing could not be any better.

For the second consecutive week, Azusa Pacific distance runners took center stage of a meet and with the spotlight on them broke 2 more school records during Saturday’s Oxy Invitational at Occidental College, and with the NAIA Outdoor Championships looming on the horizon in less than 2 weeks, the Cougars have certainly hit their stride, so to speak, at a most advantageous time.

“Our distance runners are on fire right now,” said Cougar women’s coach Mike Barnett. “(Distance coach) Preston (Grey) is doing a great job with the athletes. He is developing relationships with them, challenging them, and they are responding.”

Perhaps the most noticeable effort at Oxy came from senior All-American Whitney Jacobsmeyer, who did not break a school record but nonetheless clocked an impressive 19-second personal record in the steeplechase, recording a 10:52.67, the third fastest time in the NAIA this season. The performance comes on the heels of a personal-best 4:39.56 in the 1500 at the Claremont Invitational last week.

“Preston challenged Whitney going into the Claremont meet to leave everything on the track and just go all out,” Barnett added, “and in the process she realized what she was really capable of doing. A 10:52 is great in the steeple, but we all think, including her, that there are even better times still ahead for her.

Jacobsmeyer, who is a 2-time NAIA All-American in the steeple, recorded the second fastest steeplechase in Azusa Pacific history, trailing only former NAIA champion Brianna Carstensen who ran a 10:28 in 2005.

A month ago it was big news when sophomore Jaime Canterbury broke Carstensen’s school record in the 1500 meters. She did it again, and this time without much fanfare, even from Canterbury herself, who said “oh I just knocked off a couple tenths of a second off my 1500 PR,” failing to mention that it was still a school record.

Canterbury recorded a 4:27.38 to finish third in the 1500 at Oxy.

“Jaime went out with Kara June and Ali Mann, a couple of big-time studs who have run at the U.S. Championships,” said Grey, “and she ran with them for the first 1,000 meters. She was right there for much of the race which I think in the end helped break her own school record.”

Not to be outdone by his female colleagues, sophomore Aron Rono registered his own school record as well, his fourth this year, breaking the program record in the 1500, a year to the day that former Cougar Tim Ramirez originally broke the school 1500-meter record that had stood for 30 years. Rono didn’t give Ramirez much time to enjoy his glory, breaking Ramirez’s standard by 2 seconds with a 3:43.25 to finish second at the Oxy Invitational.

In this, his first season as a Cougar, Rono has set the Azusa Pacific records in the 1500 (3:43.25), mile (4:06.91), 5000 (14:11.67) and 10,000 (28:50.81).

In other notable Cougar performances at Oxy, senior Peter Sherman posted a 2-second PR in the steeplechase with a 9:15.96, the fifth fastest time in the NAIA this season and the fourth fastest in Azusa Pacific history. Junior Jason Zichterman ran a season-best 1:51.46 in the 800, the eighth fastest time in the NAIA this season.

On the women’s side, senior Olivia Richert recorded a personal-best 4:40.35 in the 1500 to post the tenth fastest time in program history and at the same time improved her standing in the NAIA.

All-American Morgan Altzier reached the NAIA “B” standard in the pole vault with a season-best effort leap of 11’ 3¾” and now will compete in both the heptathlon and pole vault at the NAIA Outdoor Championships.

Azusa Pacific takes this weekend off in preparation for the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which run May 24-26, in Fresno, Calif., at GSAC-member Fresno Pacific University.