Rono, a sophomore out of Kenya, captured the NAIA Region II cross country individual title, becoming the first Azusa Pacific male athlete ever to win that crown, but it was the method, and so much the rareness of the honor that caught the eyes of on-lookers at the NAIA regional championship meet at Woodward Park.
Rono sprinted away from the 76-athlete field and in the process not only destroyed the meet record but shattered the Woodward Park course record, blazing an impressive 23.47 over the 8K course, beating his nearest competitor – Concordia’s Carlos Handler -- by nearly a minute. In the process, Rono broke the course record by 28 seconds, becoming the first athlete ever to run a sub-24 on the famed Woodward track.
If Rono can keep his current pace of 8Ks, he can become only the fifth runner in NAIA history to clock a sub-24 race. He still has some work to do to close in on Silah Misoi’s 1996 NAIA record of 23:14, but Rono is certainly the favorite to capture this year’s national title when the NAIA Championship Meet is staged Nov. 18 in Louisville, Ky.
Rono’s performance highlighted an Azusa Pacific team effort in which the Cougars finished third overall. The NAIA’s top-ranked and GSAC champion Concordia won the regional championship with 37 points while Cal State San Marcos was second with 76 points. The Cougars tallied 90 to beat the NAIA’s No. 4-ranked Westmont which finished fourth with 102 points.
“Concordia looks like a team that could win a national championship,” said Azusa Pacific coach Preston Grey, “but I’m very happy with our performance. It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to see the finish at this regional be the same finish at the national championship meet.”
Freshman Caleb Mesa clocked a 25:36 to finish 19th overall while senior Peter Sherman was on Mesa’ heels with a 25:40 to finish 20th. Overall, the Cougars top 5 runners recorded a combined time of 2:06.49.
“This was the best-ever team time for us on this course,” said Grey, “and it only adds to the excitement for the nationals.”
In need of the sterling performance, the Cougar women produced such an effort. Azusa Pacific entered the regional meet on the bubble of a berth into the NAIA championship meet, but behind the close-knit running of Jaime Canterbury, Whitney Jacobsmeyer and Olivia Richert, the Cougars finished second with 98 points, off-setting their disappointing fourth-place showing on the same Woodward course 2 weeks ago in the GSAC Championships. With the runner-up showing, the NAIA’s No. 17-ranked Azusa Pacific not only beat No. 8 Point Loma Nazarene and No. 15 Vanguard, but it likely secured a berth into the NAIA Championship Meet.
Canterbury led the Cougar contingent with an 18:15 to finish sixth out of 83 runners and post her personal best time ever at Woodward. Jacobsmeyer was ninth with an 18:26 while Richert registered an 18:58.
“The ladies ran a super race and the top 3 runners really stepped up,” said Grey. “They got out and competed very well and set the tone. They gained a lot of redemption after running so bad on this same course 2 weeks ago. It felt great to see them run that well and compete so well.”
The NAIA Championship Meet is scheduled for Nov. 18 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The women’s race opens at 7:30 a.m. (PST) followed by the men’s race at 8:30 a.m. (PST).
