FRESNO, Calif. –- He arrived as a champion, and now 3 years later he would like to leave in the same fashion.

In Azusa Pacific’s illustrious track & field history, quarter-miler Tony Ramirez can easily get lost in the shuffle of the star-laden crowd. Yes, he is an NAIA champion, but so too are 67 other past Cougars. And indeed, Ramirez is a multiple champion, but then again so are 37 other former Cougars. At any other school he’d be a sure lock for the Hall of Fame, but this is Azusa Pacific – king of NAIA track.

As he prepares for his final collegiate meet, this weekend’s NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Fresno Pacific University, Ramirez knows he is about to close the door on his college career – and the Ramirez family legacy.

He is the fourth and final member of the Ramirez family to run track & field for Azusa Pacific, and while older brother Tim would certainly want to argue the point, Tony may be the best, but only by a fraction of a second.

Tony wasted no time making splash as a Cougar. As a 2004 freshman, in his first NAIA championship event, he won the indoor 400-meter run and then later in the day helped set an NAIA record by running the second leg on the Cougars’ winning 4x400 relay. And by the way, those 20 points he secured helped Azusa Pacific capture the national championship.

Hello Mr. Ramirez.

And now, 3 seasons later, he is about to say “good-bye.” He enters this week’s championship meet as a 14-time NAIA All-American and a 5-time champion. In the annuals of Cougar track & field, numbers like those puts his name among the likes of Okoye, Barnett, and Clay. His times in the 200, 400 and 600 are all among the top 7 marks in Cougar track & field history.

There’s little more left to do than to “bookend” his career – go out like the champion he came in as.

Ramirez leads a contingent of 20 Cougars to Fresno Pacific this week, all in search of a team national championship – the 14th outdoor crown for Azusa Pacific since 1983. The Cougars won the NAIA indoor track & field title back in March but a sweep of the seasonal track crowns will be a difficult task to pull off.

Out of the gate, Oklahoma Baptist appears to be the team to beat for the men’s championship. The Bison, who are led by a strong sprint corps and a trio of excellent half-milers, are gunning for their first NAIA championship since 1990 when they ended Azusa Pacific’s 7-year title run by capturing their first and only track & field championship.

Virginia Intermont and its legion of distance runners are expected to challenge Azusa Pacific and Oklahoma Baptist for the championship. And 3-time defending national champion Dickinson State (N.D.) can’t be counted out either.

“There is little room for error for any of the top 3 or 4 teams contending for the title,” said Cougar coach Kevin Reid. “The national champion might be determined by the team that makes the fewest mistakes or puts together the perfect meet according to their marks coming in.”

Ramirez is hoping to lead Azusa Pacific in the 400 and the short relays. A year ago in this meet at Fresno Pacific, he pulled a hamstring muscle in the finals of the 200 meters, forcing him out of the meet without any points scored. And though he has been hampered by slight injuries this season, he is ready roll.

The stress for success in Fresno won’t be alone on Ramirez’s shoulders. In fact, Cougar standout Aron Rono is hoping to make history by becoming the first athlete ever to win both the NAIA 1500 meters and the 10,000 meters in the same meet. An extraordinary athlete, the sophomore from Kenya has already broke 4 Azusa Pacific distance records this year and comes into the NAIA meet with the nation’s leading time in the 1500 (3:43.25) and 10,000 (28:50.81).

Aiding the Cougar cause in Fresno are 800-meter specialists Jason Zichterman and Caleb Lynch, who will go head-to-head with OBU in the 4x800 and the open 800 (Zichterman only).

All-American thrower James Ferguson is set to contend for national honors in the shot, discus and hammer, and the more points he can accumulate in the throws, the less pressure there will be for the Cougars on the track.

Fifteen Cougar women are in Fresno this week as well, and head coach Mike Barnett is optimistic his crew can finish in the top four, though the battle will be keen.

“I think we can come home with some hardware,” said Barnett. “I like how we’re shaping up against the competition. It’ll be tight, but if all goes right for us, we’ll be in the hunt to be on the podium at the end of Saturday.”

Junior Zora Golcevska spearheads the Cougar attack. She is expected to run away from the competition in the heptathlon and then contend for the national title in the 100-meter hurdles as well. All-American Lorraine Swaby should be a finalist in the 400 hurdles and then lead the Cougar 4x400 relay.

Senior Morgan Altizer, the most decorated Cougar among this year’s contingent, will compete one last time in the heptathlon and her specialty – the pole vault, where she’ll meet up with teammate Mandy Pohja.

Distance runners Jaime Canterbury (1500) and Whitney Jacobsmeyer (steeplechase) are expected to score for the Cougars, while All-Americans Ruth Wilhelm (shot, discus, hammer) and Megan Ilertsen (discus, hammer) should give Azusa Pacific strong representation in the throws.

The 3 day national championship meet begins Thursday (May 24) morning with the heptathlon and decathlon and concludes Saturday (May 26) evening with the 4x400 relays.

Click here for more information on the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including team rosters and performance lists, and for live updates from each event.