AZUSA, Calif. –- While their teammates competed on the other side of the country under the balmy skies of Irvine, Calif., 4 Cougar men established Azusa Pacific history in the most historic city in America – Philadelphia, Pa.

Seniors Danny Reid, Kevin Lindsey, Tim Ramirez and sophomore Caleb Lynch became the first-ever Cougar athletes to compete in the prestigious Penn Relays, the longest running track & field meet in U.S. history. In so doing, the quartet not only brought the Azusa Pacific name onto a most significant stage, the men also set a school record.

Led by the NAIA champion Ramirez, the Cougar quartet finished in third place in the Penn Relays 4x800-meter relay by clocking a sizzling 7:23.85 at track of Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. They finished behind Oral Roberts University (7:18.74) and Villanova University (7:19.06). The foursome broke the former school standard by nearly 3 seconds.

With 200 meters to go, the Cougars were in sixth place, however Ramirez, who was running the anchor leg, put the pedal to the metal, overtaking the anchormen of Connecticut, Penn State and Columbia down the stretch.

“Tim just blasted by a group of guys,” said Azusa Pacific distance coach Preston Gray. “It was impressive performance by all 4 guys. They represented Azusa Pacific very well in front of 40,000 people.”

Lynch opened the race with a 1:50.9 split, followed by Lindsey’s 1:52.9. Reid clocked a 1:50.6 on his leg while Ramirez finished off with a 1:49.5. All 4 Cougars are NAIA All-Americans in the open 800 meters. Ramirez was the NAIA champ in 2003. The time, which is easily the best by an NAIA school this year, is also the best recorded this year by 4 Americans on the same relay.

Meanwhile, back in Southern California, a select group of Cougars competed at the Steve Scott Invitational hosted by UC Irvine. Sophomore Kjersti Housman ran a personal-best 1:03.38 in the 400 hurdles, using the eighth fastest time in school history to automatically qualify for next month’s NAIA Outdoor Championship Meet in Fresno.

Junior Peter Sherman automatically qualified for the NAIA steeplechase by finishing second in his race with a season-best 9:22.96. Sophomore Nathaniel Nasca ran his first-ever sub-15 high hurdles race, registering a 14.99 in the 110 highs. Senior Mark Grubbs launched the javelin a season-best 190’ 7”.

All-American thrower Kristi Young is beginning to peak at the most appropriate time for the senior. She set 2 personal-records at the Steve Scott Invitational, recording a 146-9 in the discus which was preceded by a 168-3 in the hammer. Both throws are Top-10 efforts in Azusa Pacific track & field history.