FRESNO, Calif. –- Aron Rono dreams big.

Then again, people with his level of talent can imagine the impossible.

A sophomore from Kenya, Rono catapulted Azusa Pacific into the lead after the first day of the 56th Annual NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship by winning the final event of the day – the 10,000 meters. Rono clocked a 30:47.25 and in the process became the first athlete in 15 years to win back-to-back NAIA 10Ks.

And that’s where his dream begins.

“It was important for me to win tonight,” said a rather calm Rono, who certainly wasn’t gasping for air just moments after the victory. “My plan is to win 4 10Ks in 4 years.”

A pretty lofty plan considering it’s never been done before in the history of NAIA track & field, and only one person – Rick Robirds of Adams State (1988-90) – has won 3 straight 10,000-meter titles. However, Rono is half way there, and his performance tonight seemed to point to the possibility of such an accomplishment. For 24 laps, he paced himself with MidAmerica Nazarene’s Noah Too and Sammy Maiyo of Lindsey Wilson, and then he pulled away for the near 2-second victory.

“My plan was to hang with them for 5 miles and then pull away the final mile,” said Rono. “I did try to pull away but Noah ran very well. I wasn’t worried though because I felt really strong.”

Rono’s performance highlighted a day in which Azusa Pacific – both the men’s and the women’s assumed their usual position among the elite of the championship field. The Cougar men have their eye on another championship, and senior All-American James Ferguson aided the men’s cause by finishing fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 175’ 1”.

However, the Cougars took a hit to their championship pursuit when NAIA titlist Tony Ramirez was disqualified from the 400 meters for running out of his lane. Ramirez was expected to score significant points for Azusa Pacific in the 400 finals.

“It’s not a ruling that we can protest,” said Cougar men’s coach Kevin Reid, “and besides 2 different judges saw it, so it must have been a pretty clear violation. It just means Tony will be more rested for the relays, and we’ll be a stronger presence in the 4x400.”

And later in the day the Cougars became an even greater force in the 4x800 when pre-meet favorite Oklahoma Baptist failed to advance out of the prelims, opening the door for Azusa Pacific to collect an unprecedented fifth straight NAIA title in that event.

In nearly all the other preliminary events of the day, the Cougars advanced along as expected. Peter Sherman moved into the finals of the steeplechase, while Jason Zichterman advanced in the 800 meters. Tal Mor moved on in the 100 and 200 and anchored the 4x100 into the finals.

“We’re right where we need to be to make a run for the national title,” said Reid, “but there’s a new team on the horizon with Dickinson State, who figures into the mix now with the losses that we and Oklahoma Baptist suffered today. But we’ll scrap from a lot of different places, and see how this falls out over the next 2 days.”

In the women’s competition, Azusa Pacific collected 7 early points before the first running event was staged. Juniors Megan Ilertsen and Ruth Wilhelm each registered personal records to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, in the women’s hammer throw, the championship meet’s opening event.

After a first-throw foul, Wilhelm advanced to the finals with what would prove to be her top mark of the event, a throw of 166’ 6” on her third attempt, besting her previous personal best by 2 inches. Ilertsen recorded an impressive 11-foot PR, heaving the metal ball 168’ 8” for the sixth best throw in program history.

“It felt so easy,” said Ilertsen of her All-America effort. “It was awesome. Coach (Barnett) gears us to peak in May. We’ve been building technique and strength throughout the season and coach said it’s not unusual to not throw PRs throughout the season. I had a really good practice yesterday and thought something good might happen, not this big though.”

Senior Renee Eckley put the perfect cap on a career hampered by injuries. As a 2004 redshirt freshman she surprised the field by coming out of nowhere to win the NAIA javelin title. Though she was far from winning the event today, Eckley again came from nowhere to post a 10-foot season-PR in the javelin to finish fifth with a throw of 138’ 1”.

“Those are big bonus points for us,” said Cougar women’s coach Mike Barnett. “We weren’t counting on those but that’s Renee. She seems to come through in big ways at key moments. I’m happy for her. It’s a nice way to finish her career, as an All-American again.”

In the heptathlon, pre-meet favorite Zora Golcevska is currently third after the first day of competition, tallying 2,952 points to trail Doane’s Katie Kosmos (3,054) and Kate Alderson of Point Loma Nazarene (2,963). Senior Morgan Altizer, a 5-time All-American, is in fifth place with 2,768 points.

Azusa Pacific currently leads the men's team competition with 14 points, while the Cougar women are currently tied for second with 3 other teams in their division with 10 points.

The championship meet continues on the campus of Fresno Pacific Friday (May 25) and concludes on championship Saturday (May 26).

For complete up-to-the-minute results of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships go to CFPI Timing & Data. For more detailed information on the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, go to the NAIA website. For audio and video highlights of the meet, visit Fresno.edu/naia2007.